We all find ourselves confronting the shadows of life. We have those places that are obscured by uncertainty and void of understanding or control. We may have come to terms with the veil that hides the distant future, but when that veil hides significant pieces of our present or immediate future, we become anxious or fearful. How do we live with these shadows?
When confronting the shadows, the unknowns, we have developed a capacity for faith. Faith is a set of beliefs, commitments, hopes, and assumptions about life. It includes the things that help us imagine our way through the darkness. Faith is not reality. But it does allow us to cope with the unknowns by giving us an estimation of what exists in the shadows and how we can deal with them.
Many believe that there is life after death. For them, this a faith claim that has an equal weight as a fact. Because they believe this, they are able to let go of some of the fear and live their lives. Many believe in karma, we get what we give. Therefore, they can let go of their need for revenge. But karma and the afterlife is not a fact, they are faith claims. Faith claims may not be real, but they have very real consequences in our lives. Faith allows us to deal with the shadows in life.
Now many will argue that they do not have a faith. They claim to live only by facts. But, they still have to deal with the shadows. But what they deny is not a faith, but a religion. Everyone has a faith. Scientists have a faith in the scientific method. But they will tell you that absolutely certainty is a rare quality. Most scientific claims are held open for further testing. This is the reason they use the word theory. Their level of certainty may be extraordinarily high about a given theory, but there is almost always more to learn. There is more shadow to explore. And their method lets them live with this shadow of uncertainty.
What many do deny is the lack of a religion. Religion is a mere human institution created to promote and protect a particular faith. Faith can exist without a religion. Highly personalized faith can exist without religious support. (Whether such unsupported faith is a good thing cannot be addressed here, but it is a question worth pursuing.)
A bad faith encourages apathy or hatred, distrust, fear, and despair. Bad faith fosters a need to dispel the shadows with violence, if necessary. Those who live in the shadows are viewed as enemies. Death itself, as the ultimate shadow, is feared and resisted. Bad faith turns shadows into enemies to be conquered or destroyed.
But, a good faith allows us to live with shadows through love and trust, joy and hope. A good faith allows us to live with awe and wonder when we gaze upon the shadowed unknowns in our lives. A good faith encourages us to live with the shadows because these very shadows have something to offer. A good faith is able to love and trust, anyway. It allows us to find joy and hope, anyway!
When you find yourself peering into the shadows does your faith and the religion that supports it offer you love and trust, joy and hope? If not, it may be time to find a religion to help you explore a new faith.