“Have Faith!” Faith is the 2nd most potent element in the universe. On another blog we discuss the most potent. Faith is more potent than Polonium, Mercury or Arsenic, (3 most dangerous elements by radioactivity, toxicity, & reactivity).
Let’s start on the world wide web ( ‘most comprehensive source of human interactivity’ – perhaps?). On the day of this writing, in 99 seconds Google counted 4.8 Billion hits for ‘faith’. Among those is the best effort English definitions of Faith: a noun (thing) 1. the complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 2. strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. ( fascinating!) Antonyms include trust, belief, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence, optimism, hopefulness, hope and expectation. Etymologically, (how a words perception has evolved https://www.etymonline.com) the English word ‘faith’ form mid-13c., “the being able to cleave to a power of goodness appealing to our higher and real self, not to our lower and apparent self. [Matthew Arnold, “Literature & Dogma,” 1873], it is “confidence in a person or thing with reference to truthfulness or reliability.”
Some years ago, I was looking over an investment portfolio of a couple. With reports strewn across their dining table, I had laid out a plan to help them grow their portfolio to become more independent, wealthy, and happy. I was a seasoned financial specialist – having had over a decade of these meetings, and had developed a comprehensive plan, shared as clearly and appropriately as possible. The globally economy was in a financial contraction, and although I had addressed this recession and its implications, there was still a cloud of uncertainty, fear, mistrust over our conversation.
Without warning I had a sort of mystical experience, or better yet, revelation. As I waited patiently – the couple discussing my presentation, I saw ‘faith’ anew. Typically financial professions have not championed ‘faith’ as a significant driver of success. For the most part, wealth building has been thought of as a practice of diligence, prudence & wisdom, not more surreal, philosophic or religious ‘faith’. Indeed the couple I was sitting with would have identified their million dollars of investment wealth as sourced through the former three values. Furthermore the often private appeal ‘trust me’ – used by unscrupulous financial agents caused minimization of faith. In short, in North America wealth is assumed to be ‘self made’.
As I sat with them, answering questions, I envisioned a faith staircase wide and accessible – as if made of polished stone, which ascended up into the clouds. Mystically, built upon this staircase was every relationship, profession & healthy interaction. People dressed in all sorts of wear ascended up & down the stairs.
In that moment I realized that, these clients had began the ascent of the faith stairs with me: referred by a friend, they trusted that relationship enough for a 1st meeting with me – they then believed I would be confidential & constructive with their information to prepare a plan – they had received my suggestions, engaged openness and good questions – and stopped. Before they rejected my proposal, I could see it: they stopped climbing the faith stairs with me.
That night I learned a potent lesson which I am still unpacking. All of life requires faith, and YES, we all – individual and corporately, have no choice but to exercise faith. That couple believed the investments I recommended were not in their best interest – and perhaps they were right, and so came the lesson: Faith is like breathing, like climbing a staircase; the investing our very selves – all we have.
Faith makes an inescapable demand of us all: to exercise it’s inestimable worth in things of truth, worth and eternality – goodness appealing to our higher and real self. When we believe in what is real, we never ultimately lose.
Everyday you and I, mine, consume and process this most potent element of all – faith, but unlike a lifeless, inorganic element, faith is life’s very fertilizer – potent food for life’s greatest seeds – truth. Farm Faith and you will see: a bumper crop is coming.
Farming Faith 