FK Journal: Faith

This week’s FK discussion is about Faith, specifically Faith in humanity. It can be read here. 

This post was a relatively short one. There are a few things that I relate to that are within the post.

It is easy, really, to have faith in a separate God that things are going to work out for the best. It requires faith, but not in the people you live with every day. FlameKeeping requires faith in humanity.

I see this a lot in people I meet or read. Of varying religious affiliation. People who are always waiting for the Gods or something other than themselves to magic them out of a bad situation. I think this is part of why I fell out of using magic and I don’t really pray. I don’t feel like it’s up to the gods to make my life better- it’s up to me. And so, instead of sitting in shrine begging X or Y god to change something, or spending my time finding the perfect stones, herbs and candles to make Z happen for me, I just get off my ass and go do it myself. I use the mundane to get things done. I guess to me, that requires a faith in humanity by having faith in myself to get the job done.

This doesn’t mean to close your eyes and jump, assuming someone will catch you. FlameKeeping is very much about pragmatism: if it’s not going to work, it’s a bad idea. But it does mean that we need to both have a basic faith in humanity’s decentness (for we are the Divine) and to be people that one can have that faith in, as well. We are of the Divine, and we must take that seriously. Be someone others can take faith in, and find others to take faith in.

This was interesting to me as well. I like that it’s not blind faith. That there is some common sense to it. But even more than that, I like that we are each held accountable for faith in ourselves. You can swap that with self esteem and value, in my opinion. And I think it’s something each of us could use a little more of. It’s the Set in life- the things that make you stronger, make you capable and give you faith in your abilities. Anything that has to do with Set, I like XD

Questions:

Do you have faith in other people? What does that mean to you?

My faith in people comes and goes. I know that deep down we are capable of so much more and when I see how we are squandering our potential, it makes me sad and I lose faith. But then I catch a glimpse of our possibility, of someone doing something right and I’m back for another round. I suppose this means that I must keep trying to keep faith, and to help others have faith in humanity as well. Because if we don’t fix it, who will?

Are you someone other people can have faith in? Why or why not?

I believe so. I am reliable. I am faithful. I am a rock. I think steadiness and predictability can lead to faith- you can have faith that I will follow through, for example. I do what I say I’m going to do. Because of these traits, I lean towards yes.

What does believing in humanity mean to you? Is it meaningful? Scary? Empowering?

I’m not really sure. I mean, I’m going to do what I’m going to do (save the world) regardless of what my fellow human beings are doing. However, when I look at the world beyond, sometimes believing in humanity is empowering (look as us all kicking ass!) or it’s depressing (look at you all sucking ass!). I know it’s something that I need to keep in mind, though it can be hard some days.