Faith

A conversation broke out today regarding faith. The whats and wheres and why-fores are really unimportant for the sake of this post, other than the fact that this conversation is what brought about this rambling. This said, allow me to continue.

Faith is essentially trust. If you look it up in the dictionary, most of the definitions have "trust" in them. Most people who know me know that trust isn't something I give wholly or easily. It takes years to build, and only moments to destroy. And once it's been destroyed, it is basically impossible to regain, although there have been a few. But, I digress.

Blind faith is the art of trusting in someone or something without question or proof. To have blind faith in someone is, quite simply, stupid. You have to allow for the opportunity to question this trust, even if not right at this moment. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for pain, sorrow and disappointment.

But on the same hand, you have to have some faith. For example, I have faith in my husband that he won't cheat on me. I wouldn't have married him otherwise. If there hadn't been that trust, I basically would have been just marrying him because I was bored. Or because I just didn't want to be alone. And this would have been, quite simply, stupid.

I have faith in my friends that they care about me and will be here for me when they can and/or want to be. This doesn't give me the right to distrust when they aren't there for me. I've already allowed for that possibility rather than blindly believing in them. To do so would be, quite simply, stupid. They're human.

I have faith there is a higher power of some sort. This isn't a blind trust. I accept that this higher power may not exist, and am willing to question and research and study. To do otherwise would be, quite simply, stupid.

So basically what I am saying, faith is not blind. Or shouldn't be. It is not something to just toss under the rug though either. It is something to be realistically and carefully considered, and appreciated.