Faith Isn’t Belief — It’s Movement

I’ve been struggling with something that I’m finding hard to step into; there’s a kind of inner resistance that creeps up whenever I worry about it – whether I’ll measure up.

The advice I receive is to have faith. I was raised Baptist. Faith meant something very specific that was all about accepting religious doctrine with no proof. That never appealed to me, so the idea of having faith, for me, had to change before I could consider it.

I asked friends for their view of having faith, I googled it, and I found something that Martin Luther King, Jr. said about faith. Google defines faith in 2 ways – one very much in line with how I learned it. The other as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Reverend King’s definition went one step further when he said Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

What he said spoke to me: for me, it wasn’t ever about having complete trust in someone else, but about having complete trust in the process and my ability to flow with the process, especially when I don’t see the whole thing.

That definition I can follow. It brings me hope that I can step fully into my process, even if I don’t fully get it or get it right.

Quote of the Week

Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.

― Anne Lamont

Lesley Hazleton: The doubt essential to faith

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Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist.  To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programs, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co . 

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