Have a Little Faith

By Alex Cohen

This weekend I watched a movie called The Shack. It is about a man, Mack, whose daughter is abducted and presumed to be killed. Mack blames himself and can’t live with his guilt and loses all faith in everything, pulling away from his wife, his children and life. In his deepest despair he receives an invitation to the Shack – the place where his daughter was killed – and he decides to go and confront the monster. While there he meets a trio of people who help him find his faith in God, in his family, in himself and in life.

I was inspired to write this blog as we celebrate two very important holidays this week, Passover and Easter – both center on a key theme: faith.

But, what is faith? According to the dictionary it is “a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Or, as I read on a sign the other day: “Faith is like Wi-Fi, it’s invisible but it has the power to connect you to what you need.”

Both these statements hold great meaning to me as, like many others, there have been rough periods in my life where I had to dig deep to find my own faith. I would question why bad things were happening to me but I would lean on my faith to get me through. Faith to me is not about religion. Instead, it’s a belief that things happen for a reason and a feeling of hope or light at the end of a tunnel.

Faith can be a belief in God, or just a belief that there is a higher power out there. Something that can calm us, that allows us to believe that things will get better in our times of need.

There are so many different ways people practice their faith. Some pray regularly, some go to church, some meditate to reach a higher consciousness, some go on retreats, some do Yoga, some even go so far as to climb the tallest mountains to walk among the clouds. We go to great lengths to find that moment of enlightenment or that belief that there is something more out there, something we cannot see or touch, but that we have complete trust in.

I have known many self-proclaimed atheists that will call out to God when they suffer a great loss or injury. They call out for something they can hold onto, something that will bring them peace or the courage to go on. This to me IS faith; faith that you are not alone in this world.

We have all heard stories of people praying their Illness away or into remission, or miracles that are unexplained to even the most brilliant minds. Some may question whether or not these types of stories are true as they cannot be explained. However, some things are just not meant to be proven or explained through science. Again, this is faith.

It may be that we ourselves have the power to self-heal, but even that requires faith without question. You must believe and trust that all things are not out of your control, and give in to the belief that things can and will change for the better. There is a certain sense of liberation in handing yourself over to that which cannot be explained.

I am not saying that having faith will heal you or cure your illnesses, what I am saying is that faith itself is a gift of hope that things can get better and, if they do not, it was meant to be as it is. You will find comfort and a sense of peace in knowing that.

I myself am guilty of praying or asking for help and advice only in times of need, but I never go a day without feeling enormous gratitude for the blessings I have received.

“Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed, and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything. This is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything.” Alan Cohen (no relation)

For all of you reading this blog, think about how you got through your worst moments in life and find gratitude in your heart for whatever or whoever got you through it, even if it was your own resolve. No matter what your beliefs are or who you put your faith in, as we go into this holiday weekend, remember these three simple words that will help you through any trial, tribulation or circumstance – good and bad:

Keep the faith!