If faith is action not belief, then what characterizes that action? It is confidence. That word has its origin in the Latin word, confidere, to trust. Trust can by a synonym for faith, and its antonym is doubt, or skepticism. There is a sense of the word, confidence, that carries with it lack of fear, a knowledge or awareness that everything is going to be OK. This equanimity about events and their outcomes relates back to what I said about the Power measure. A good example is when Jesus is walking on water and invites Peter to join him. Peter walks until he becomes afraid, then he sinks. “You of little faith,” Jesus said, “why did you doubt?”

Why do I doubt? It’s fear. As Alan Watts pointed out, faith is letting go while fear is hanging on. It’s about control. Do good and bad things happen, or do things happen? The truth is that things happen, and we give them meaning. I have asked to have the faith that enables one to truly experience the unfolding of life as an adventure, an arrival of things where they are supposed to be, not outcomes to be feared or sought after.

<–Day Eleven: The Measure of Faith is Action

Epiphany—>