Use Your Gifts In Faith
Photo: Mike Baumeister
Photo: Isaiah McClean
Let us imagine, together if you will, a community in which every individual is always encouraged to overcome their fears and to push past the thoughts and ‘reasons’ as to why there is an impediment to them achieving anything. This is, of course, the society that we would love to believe that we lived in today; however, a world where, “each individual is always encouraged to overcome their fears,” is not the age that we live in. We do not consciously create and live in this sort of a society, as we do not always encourage our family, friends and neighbours to overcome their fears.
Naturally, we believe that we do this for each other, that we encourage each other to overcome our greatest fears and frustrations - but, we don’t. When our family, friends and neighbours tell us the ‘reasons’ as to why they cannot, it is often not true at all. The ‘reason’ why something cannot be accomplished should be a reasoning that is a logical, unbiased understanding of the process of how and why. As expertly illustrated by the 17th century Dutch Philosopher Baruch de Spinoza, in his classic philosophical text Ethics (1677), Spinoza demonstrates how he mathematically comes to logical, unbiased and reasoned understandings of the relationship between Nature and God. Here is my example of such ‘reasoning in faith’.
Photo 1: Fred Kearney.
Photo 2: LagosTechie.
An individual has an amputated limb and might reason that they do not want to - or cannot - be a professional NBA basketball player. Why? An amputated limb (a), one would reason in this instance, equals a disadvantage (b); a disadvantage equals the unlikeliness to be picked by an NBA team, (c). Therefore ‘a’ (amputated limb) = ‘b’ (disadvantage) = ‘c’ (the unlikeliness to be picked by an NBA team). So, this individual might reason in faith - “I cannot play in the NBA but, perhaps, I can play in the paralympics.” Often, this kind of reasoning is followed by a difficult journey to achieving that reasoned goal.
However, these reasonings in faith aren’t the ‘reasons’ that our family, friends and neighbours often express to us as to why a lofty goal might be unachievable for them. Instead, people tend to express their fears disguised as ‘reasons’: we hear statements like, ‘I’d really love to do _____, but that’s unrealistic”. The reason why it’s ‘unrealistic’ is not a reasoning at all; rather, it is a fear of facing the challenges truly required to achieve. We intuitively know that the road to our greatest ambitions can only be accomplished with absolute belief and dedication, or - faith.
Yet, the slightest ‘reason’ as to why something cannot be done seems to always be a good enough reason; those are the ‘reasons’ people often give as to, “why I cannot”, and, why we do not always encourage others to overcome their fears or to push to achieve their lofty goals - here is my theory: we accept our loved ones speaking from fear because we too often approach our lives with fearful reasons why we cannot, so that when we hear another confirm their own fears to us, we often accept them as good enough reasons for them not to try. We listen, nod along in agreement with their reasoned fears and address little of it, or nothing at all. Yet, I do realise that we are all dealing with our own fears and ambitions, so it is difficult to stop someone else in their tracks or to preach the good word by saying, “Yes, you can.”
Photo 1: Chris Bulilan.
Photo 2: Avi Richards.
Over time, I have come to realise that there isn’t much that can be done when it comes to improving the mindstate of an individual, if the individual themself chooses to speak and live in fear. To tell an individual who is adamant that they can’t, is to begin an argument with them: the individual themself must believe, or at least want to believe that they can. Like the seeking out of a Zen master for understanding and spiritual guidance, a student must be open to learning and to new ideas; if not, the student simply cannot be taught because they are not open to growth. As such, the student will not experience understanding, rather they will argue their point; so, they will not see the truth of the Zen master’s teachings, because they are set in arguing their reasons. The choice to seek is a bold choice, this is why we must let go of fear and choose faith, even if only the size of a mustard seed.
It is always the gift, talent or skill which we are most in fear of using, the thing we reason, in fear, as the most impossible thing to use to accomplish something for us, that we should use in faith to achieve. This is what brings us the most fulfilment in life, the experience of constantly overcoming the greatest challenges we can imagine for ourselves - to fulfil being our greatest selves. I maintain this because I believe that the human experience of life should be as fulfilled as possible for every person, and I ask: what more fulfilling experience of life is there than doing the things we love doing, doing the things we are most gifted at - or at least have the potential to be most gifted at - to be our greatest selves?
I make this claim, and suggestion, because it reasons to me that doing the things that we are most scared of failing at, in faith, brings the greatest reward: a fulfilled life. What do you think?
