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[quote=Anonymous]It helps me not to think too much of "religion" ie God.  Personally I do consider myself a person of faith and believe in God though I do not go to Church on a regular basis nor practice organized religion ie Lent, etc.  What helps me in having faith is the notion that everything is as it should be.  EVERYTHING is perfect.  Faith to me is acceptance of everything must be this because there is no other way.  The good and the bad, the light and the dark are not opposites but the way.  That is maybe more Buddhist or Tao in nature but you can be of any religion, Catholic, Buddhist, etc and come back to this notion that everything is as it should be - whether it's God's plan or the Universe' plan.

I grew up abused physically and mentally as an only child.  I lived a lifetime of pain and loneliness that few could guess unless they knew me.  You'd never know my hell by knowing me because I'm so "normal."   Normal in terms that I have a healthy stable marriage to a man who respects me and 2 adorable little ones.  I've been successful at my career and have good friends, etc.  I'm not perfect and have the daily headaches everyone has and the problems that everyone has but basically, I've come through a lot of hell and my point is, you really would not have guessed it.  Never did therapy.  Just hung on to this idea that everything is as it should be.  I don't know that I've really "forgiven" my parents but I haven't let it eat me up either.  I accept what has happened and life has healed me in terms of given me time to experience joys and grief.  There was a time I was very very angry in my 20s (i'm in my early 40s now) until I met a guy I dated who really taught me about faith and acceptance.  He taught me that if those who hurt me could have known better they would have done better - that what happened to cause so much pain and grief couldn't be avoided then.  To accept that there was no other actions that could have been taken was to finally allow myself to go forward.  I don't know why but for me personally, something clicked about that notion, and I believed him.  It's a personal acceptance that applied in my circumstance and it may not work for others I realize.  Maybe it was due to the relationship I had with this guy - the love healed me as much or that I believed him more because I also loved him and wanted to - whatever the case, it happened and it was a light I never knew until that time in my life.

I agree with PP that opposite of faith is not doubt.  Light and dark are one.  Your greatest strength is almost always your greatest weakness and vice versa.   If you are able to hold these contradictions in balance and accept that everything is as it should be, that is faith not in God or religion or spirituality but in life itself.  Christ on the cross said, oh Father why hast thou forsaken me?  I have never done Bible study but my understanding is that this is quite a profound statement that people consider.  I've personally always been attracted to persons of faith - typically more religious (Catholics) over spiritual - not really sure why because it's not like I have every intention to embrace organized religion.  Yet I'm very attracted to those who have it and hope that I can do everything I can to share that gift with my 2 kids.  I think faith is the most important thing - more than love and more than hope actually.  Faith is the practical leverage a person has for overcoming obstacles.  Love can break your heart and hope does end.  Faith is the only way you go on.  I commend you for thinking about it and wanting it and wish you good luck :)

By the way, Parabola magazine is a quarterly periodical that devotes issues to themes - I'm sure they have one on faith if you wanted to google :)[/quote]

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