“Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.” Kahlil Gibran
“Faith is to see what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is they love more than the truth. They love the truth when it shines warmly on them, and hate it when it rebukes them.” Saint Augustine
“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” Voltaire
“The truth is like a lion, you don’t have to defend it, it will defend itself.” Anonymous
I did not doubt anyone
I used to actually have the belief that I did not doubt anyone. I pride myself at leaving my bag in a church bench when I go up to the alter at the front of the church. Wow I am a trusting person. Simple acts like that made me have faith in myself for being a trusting person. Now I have my doubts. I looked up doubt in the dictionary and found such definitions as hesitation. I am crushed already because I am a very cautious person unless there is an emergency. Reservations and misgivings appear to be almost natural for most of us. After all, we all sense that there are a lot of people “OUT THERE” who will hurt us if they have the chance.
Many times we meet new people at work or through friends and we are uncertain about whether or not they are worth our knowing or trusting. Unless they prove otherwise we keep a bit of a distance. The more I thought about it the more I realized that we do keep space between those we know well and those we have just met. We might pretend we trust others but deep down there are lines we draw if we are honest with ourselves. How about disbelief and suspicion? So many times the new person may be the one who is accused of taking something or doing something. Many times the one who was in err is the least one suspected. We all act surprised but persist in our reservations and misgivings of the stranger.
We disapprove of anything that seems suspicious
I know when our son or daughter comes home with the new boyfriend or girlfriend we question them in such a way as to draw out truth or anything hidden. That may not always work, but it makes us feel better. We disapprove of anything that seems suspicious, and we are skeptics if the truth was told. I remember parents who felt the television to see if it was warm, which meant the kids were watching it. Other parents counted the cookies or checked on the amount of chips still in the bag before they went out for an evening. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Our skepticism is real, yet we believe we are trusting individuals.
When it dawned on me that I was really a skeptic it bothered me. There are those that might differ and say it keeps people safe, but does it? If people want to deceive us for real, I believe they would be quite proficient at it and generally hurt or harm us. I suppose it is what we don’t see coming that gets us. We perhaps spend so much time making sure of the honesty in others that we miss the ones who are distrustful and deceitful. It likely is the one who first gains our trust and then uses that trust to abuse us. We don’t see it coming.
Keeping our Doubts Under Wraps is a Waste of Time
Where I am going with this is that spending so much time preparing to. I know we should not venture out at night alone in a crime-ridden are,a but fearing all people places and things lead us down a suspicious road. I know of some people who are afraid to hug a child because of the multitude of abuse that is on the news. All they want is to send their love yet others have made it impossible to be relaxed in such a situation.
Kids must distrust strangers no doubt but how sad that is. Are we not demonstrating trust within our own lives? Are we all so questionable that we have a belief that others are also questionable? I still melt it down to competition and winning. We keep some secrets hidden so that we can win and that is a distrustful person. I am not always sure what it is we win, but so many people don’t share their thoughts or ideas because of the competition they feel towards others. I don’t see this as honest.
Trust in God
In a way, we are secretive and not upfront about things as much as we think. If we hear of a good sale or a college that is giving out scholarships we may not let too many others know about it so that our own chances increase. If we had trust in God and the ways of how it should go perhaps we would be more honest and take our chances about the way something will turn out. I have always found that things work out the way they were meant to and we can’t really control it no matter how hard we try.
I remember one time when my husband lost a job and it appeared so bleak. He had worked so hard not to be the one cut. In the end, he got a better job and was so much happier. We look back and are grateful he got cut. Being late for appointments, losing jobs, being chosen last or not being picked for a committee we had hope for are all common happenings in our daily lives. If we had more trust in the value of the occurrences whether wanted or not wanted, we might find our life is smoother and calmer than we ever believed. If we don’t doubt we can be content with the results.
Have Faith
All our upsets cause us turmoil questions and doubts. Having faith and belief is a profound way of trusting that all is well and will turn out better than we sense at the moment. We can’t control anything as we believe. Hiding or doubting won’t make us winners or losers. Maybe our kid wasn’t meant to go to a certain school or college. When we connect the dots we can see how this caused that and that made something happen. It only happens if we follow and trust in the outcomes.
Our son may refuse to go to college, and upset us and make us quarrel about it. One day he becomes the fireman he wanted to be and saves many lives. If he hadn’t done that he would not have brought life and hope to so many people. I think adults must begin having faith and trust if we want to inspire it within our kids. I include myself because I was surprised to find how little I trusted when I thought I was endowed with so much faith. Instead of competing, or knocking each other down, or attempting to best others with our knowledge money or power, perhaps it is time to pick each other up, offer the prize to someone who works hard without any praise or honors. Notice people who support the minds or bodies of others who are in dire need of help. Use your power to aid others in any way you can.
Help Others
Within our own environments, there are so many occasions for us to help another. Sometimes it can be something as little as shutting our mouths and allowing another to voice an opinion. I am guilty of stepping in with unsolicited advice and usually am put in my place for overstepping my authority or knowledge. Of course, if we have faith in one’s honesty we would not judge but simply accept the opinion quietly and of course, do what we know to be correct.
Keep Faith
The best support is that big smile that says I see you and notice you and you are worth acknowledging. So many of us are unseen, unnoticed and barely ever acknowledged. It makes a person afraid to speak. Now that is not wise. I think that is why we hide, compete and distrust so much. We never have faith in us or our ability or worth. If we did we would not distrust so much. The honesty could develop and we would find more certainty rather than suspicion and doubt. I still want to keep my faith in humanity and in a deity who is driving the car while I sit in front of the wheel.
“Starting something new or making a big change requires effort persistence and motivation. Doubt fear and worry will only slow you down. Focus on doing your best now and celebrate every step of the way.” Doe Zantamata
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
“I am thankful to all those who said no. It is because of them I did it myself.” Albert Einstein
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Anonymous
