To Trust or Not to Trust
Our values are derived from our surroundings. We mold our attitudes and behaviors to suit the set of principles brought gradually into our lives. Those we have as children are over time eroded, set aside and a new arrangement put in their place. The original system that was inclusive, discerning, non-judgmental and creative is lacking. The new system is based on negative thought, emotion and action. They include fear, doubt, division, judgement, preservation and security.
From a very early age we gradually move from being integrated. We introduce physical values that go completely against our natural instinct. The transition is in small stages and influenced by the people we love, the world around us and our circumstances. Consequently, we lose the ability to question any doubt objectively. Even when we realize things don’t feel quite as they should we gradually learn to accept these forces. Instead of continuing connection to our innate selves we become disconnected. Bit by bit and over time we replace that natural link with other influences.
We may have the idea of being connected and this confuses the situation even further. When I study the language around religion for instance, I find that it in fact points to separation. Words like belief, blessed, commandment, sacred, holy, faith, hope, charity, adore by their nature lead us to separation rather than oneness. They contribute to a great misunderstanding of the purpose of our lives. Without an open awareness of their meaning they are often mistakenly taken as the means necessary for connecting to the Almighty.
The idea of kneeling in front of an image of a perceived God is to subjugate one’s self. This only leads to a further separation and division between the Creator and man. Adoration, what does that mean? Does it mean to make less of self and more of God? Are we to be as Uriah Heep in Charles Dicken’s story, David Copperfield,‘ever so ‘umble’? I somehow feel that the Redeemer is not waiting for adoration by anybody particularly somebody that has a lessened value of self.
As long as you can back up what you do through your value system, no matter how thwarted it is, you will insist in your being right. None of these words that are so much part of belief systems are there when you’re young. There is simply no need for them. They have no meaning for a child. The idea of adoration does not enter its awareness because when you’re small expressing creation is what you know. You have a God-given right to be as you choose.
By the time that same kid reaches the age of about seven, that right has transferred to another god called doubt and fear. The right to live as originally intended begins eroding. Now this man made thing designed to bring us closer to the Creator needs sanctifying. The child, not allowed to divide loyalties, slides into another world. Aided by his or her loved ones, appreciation becomes adoration and humility can become a manipulative, pretentious pride. Piety and subjugation at the cost of knowing the Redeemer becomes the new path of life.
Children already know God, are on equal footing with the Almighty and are familiar with the work that they are to engage. When you know, there is no need for mere faith. Why would you put a name on something you already are instinctively?
The need to satisfy the brain’s rationale becomes paramount in a world of doubt. It points to a lack of awareness in one’s own knowledge and wisdom. To put doubt into a young brain is one of the worst things you can do. Once this seed is sown it will grow until it finally takes root and spread its lofty branches in the four directions. Now belief in a multiplicity of ‘strange gods’ becomes a necessity. It replaces knowing the original Creator and the young one becomes obliged to a value system that requires judgement, labelling, security, division and destruction.
Gradually, our fear driven world erodes the child’s sanctity. In that single movement the shift to doubt occurs and we forever depend on one word that ensures our destiny is just a step away all the time. So near but yet so far, ‘faith’ is the promise of re-connection that depends on mental and emotional engagement. It’s the dangling link between us and the Creator that never delivers.
Paradoxically, when the connection is completely severed, faith can often be the vital stepping stone toward recovery. However, it is not a replacement for truth although, it is often the substitute used. It is not the end of the journey but a stage in developing a full awareness. There is work yet to do and the realization does not come by engaging the brain or heart alone but by embracing the innate like a child.
It’s necessary to move away from the body’s influence to a place of authentic participation through the inborn self. For this we need another word. One we are afraid to look at, have neglected and have conveniently forgotten. With all the intelligence available to us in our educated mentors, this word is the one least understood, the least truthfully engaged, relied upon, confided in or acknowledged. It encourages us, nay, pleads with us to stretch further than our safety zone, to become free.
For all the adoration, belief, faith, intentions, beating of breast and all we call love there is one thing that evades us. That single thing that interests the Savior is TRUST.
So, I say to you of great faith, of false love and endurance, get off your knees and stand tall for its time to realize your special place in the world. You won’t discover that by growing welts on your knee caps. By what authority do you suppress a wonderful creation of the Almighty?
It is time to trust not alone your own ability but in the One that put you here and to realize your true place in the world. To make that discovery be inclusive in your questioning. Be open in your heart and bold in your creations. Seek not the ideal of survival through inglorious faith but rather be forward and adventurous in your exploration of self-knowledge. Do not depend on others to show you the way but know your own word as the word of the Almighty for deep inside you there is the truth that can come only through your direct connection to and trust in your inner self.
