According to what I’ve been told, the Good Book (Yeah, you know the one I’m talking about… not Harry Potter!) says that “If you but have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.” Now I am certainly no Bible aficionado, but this statement resonates deeply with me. I believe strongly in the power of Faith (yes, “Faith,” which shall be capitalized for the remainder of this post!) to create what we want in life. And where I have acted with Faith, I have experienced wonderful blessings.
I think of the satisfying progress I have made in just a few short years of personal money management. Five years ago I had no investments whatsoever. In fact, I was in the hole with debt many thousands of dollars. Yet I was weary of the financial struggle, and eager to change things, so I began taking on my own personal financial planning.
I am quite pleased with the progress my wife and I have made since, and it is all simply due to the fact that we a) had a strong desire, and b) acted with Faith to accomplish the desire. In fact, every time I go over my own financial numbers, I feel this pleasant sensation, which I think could accurately be described as optimism inspired by Faith. I see the results that I have already accomplished, and I am encouraged to envision more. In this sense, I sort of lean into it each time, imagining pleasant-feeling outcomes and feeling good about it. Bit by bit, these feelings manifest into reality.
It’s like the novice-but-optimistic gardener who spends a lot of time in his would-be garden. Although it still may be a simple and rather uncultivated plot of dirt, he just keeps imagining it growing into a wonderful mecca of nature. He enjoys watching the bees buzz around. He enjoys seeing the plants emerge from the ground. He fantasizes about how he wants it to be, and his favorite past-time is reading about gardening or talking about it with other gardening fans. He too experiences a pleasant sensation when he thinks about it, and he loves to spend time involved in his gardening activities because he can feel the positive effects as the garden takes shape.
I think Faith is rather like that. You start with just a plot of dirt maybe. And your enthusiasm to produce something has a spark of credulity to it. You believe it is possible! And so you act, and it starts to take the desired shape. That is Faith in action!
In truth, every single one of us has acted on Faith over and over in our lives. I mean, at one point, every single one of us was a little kid going to school for the first time, or going on a date for the first time, or going in for that job interview or that gig or starting that business for the first time. There were times for all of us when we had to step forward into the unknown, with only our metaphorical shovel and our desire to grow something in our garden. Oh yeah, and the Faith that a force that is good, noble, and supportive will have our backs.
Starting this blog, originally back in 2016, was an act of Faith. Then, taking on the 365 Day Blogging Project last year was an act of Faith. Every time I compose, write a song, teach, meet a new student, or perform for a live audience, I act on Faith. Faith is like the glue that holds our impossible-seeming dreams together as they take shape through time and in space.
It is a beautiful thing, Faith. And we all have it about so many things things. Maybe you too have Faith in your gardening dreams. Maybe you too have faith in your music-making skills, or in your money management skills, or in your trip-planning skills. Maybe you have Faith in your ability to fix a car, play baseball, host a party, or make a perfect dive into a swimming pool. Either way, that’s Faith… and you know, it doesn’t take much.
Just one of them mustard seed’s worth of it, and you just might move mountains. Or so I hear. 🙂