August 26, 2010

Fact #46: "Faith is a fact"

First of all, who loves Arrested Development? I do. And if you get the title of this post, so do you.

Second of all, I've been thinking a whole lot lately about faith.

I'm not really religious. So I don't have that kind of faith. But lately, due partly to some sort of big life questions and a pre-midlife crisis, I've been trying to develop some other kind of faith.

I don't believe there's some great 'plan' or predetermined path for my life. I don't believe that some guiding force is watching over me. I don't really even believe in the expression "everything happens for a reason." I mean, I've said it before. I've said it to myself and to other people when I/they needed to hear it. Because it helps.

But I don't believe it. A friend called me out on that once, and I had to admit it's not how I see the world. Sometimes I'd like to see it that way -- but you can't make yourself believe in something, it doesn't really work like that.

Faith is important though. Without it, how do you let go, accept things you can't control, embrace the unknown? How do you take a leap of faith if you don't have any?

Faith is the opposite of fear. And I could use less fear in my life.

So I've modified that expression a little to something I can believe in:
Instead of "Everything happens for a reason," I'm gonna say, "Things happen, and we give them reason."

I can believe in that. I can believe that life will throw crazy shit at me and some of it might not make any sense, but that I will be capable of finding meaning in it, growing from it, learning from it.

Maybe that will give me faith, then, in my ability to weather life's ups and downs. Not faith that they won't happen. Not faith that it will be easy. Not faith that I'm guaranteed a certain outcome. But faith that whatever happens, ultimately I'm in control of how I react to things. And through my reaction, I give those things reason.

So . . . that's what I've been thinking about lately.



You know what else I've been thinking about?
















PUPPIES!!!!!!!!! (I never really stop.)



Til tomorrow.

2 comments:

Allie said...

Laurel! Love your blog :) Never underestimate how curious your facebook friends are... haha! See you tonight!

Rick said...

Yep, I agree with your interpretation of the quote about things happening for a reason. I read a book a long while back, and one message that stayed with me is that how one reacts to disappointment will determine whether their life is an expansion toward understanding and acceptance or a contraction toward cynicism and despair. Something like that. But the idea is the same - we choose how we react. And no one can do that for us or take that away from us.