Faith is one of those BIG words that conjure up  strong images for many.  Reason and faith can not exist.  Faith can not be questioned.  There is no God.  My God is better than your God.  In this context faith is simply the conscious decision to make a choice and act upon it; especially when you are unsure about the outcome.  Why is this such an important concept?

So many times in life we fail to act because we want more answers.  We want inspiration first.  We want certainty first, then we will act.  All of these ‘stories’ keep us stuck at the top of the staircase and paralyze us.  Why do we do this?

“I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify my thoughts.  I am constantly trying to make them true.  I make all things my enemies, so that my anger is justified and my attacks are warranted.  I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by assigning this role to it.  I have done this to defend a thought system that has hurt me, and that I no longer want.  I am willing to let it go.” Coures In Miracles.

For our 30th birthday I arranged for my husband and I to go skydiving.  I was terrified.  People asked why I would be willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane!  Once in the plane, I knew the answer.  The plane bolts rattled and I was sure would pop out at any moment.  Sections of the plane were duct taped and it flapped in the wind.  I thought “I want to jump, I want to jump, this plane is going to fall apart and we will all die.”

I had never been skydiving before.  I did not know what to expect.  I heard people lived.  I also heard stories of people that died.  At the edge of the plane, with clouds zipping under feet, I had to decide to jump into the total unknown.  So I jumped.  It was thrilling.

The joy of that experience could only be understood after I made a choice to jump.  So many times in life this has been my experience.  I’m an intense, logical, ‘vulcan style’ analytical person at times.  I sift through data, munch on probabilities and process it all at the speed of light.  Sometimes in the face of all contrary data, I choose the opposite.  I go against social norms, the critical tapes in my head, the disgruntled moans of family and I blaze my own trail.

Those are some of the most rewarding times in my life.  Sometimes I’ve failed, had to backtrack and even give up.  That gave me valuable experience.  That taught me humility.  That let me know it’s ok to try and fail because I survived it all!

Are you at the top of the staircase?  Is there a leap of faith you have been afraid to take?  Are there old ideas you allow to hold you back?  What would you do today if you knew you could not fail?  You have the courage to take a step.  You are a creative and remarkable person.  Find out what you CAN do today.  Let go of those attack thoughts.  Let go of those stories.  Blaze your own trail.