For me,
faith is confidence that
I will get where I need to go and do what I need to do
Others will get where they need to go and do what they need to do
Itās not magic. Iām not expecting a superbeing to come bail me out. I have a sign above my desk that says, āDo the workā. Itās not exactly science either. I fully expect help to show up when I need it. (Although science has something to say about that.)
Itās big enough and stretchy enough to remain intact when things go badly wrong. Iāve lived through enough shit to know that sometimes things will go badly wrong. And Iāve lived long enough to know that at some point things will go goodly right again. In the meantime, there are important things to learn.
For me,
faith is the opposite of anxiety.
(Not the attack kind. The opposite of attacking anxiety is not being attacked by anxiety.)
Itās living without the base-level fretting about my life and their lives and all the things that could go to hell any minute because faith keeps insisting that I will get where I need to go and do what I need to do what I need to do, and so will the others. So itās okay to live life to the full, to throw myself all the way in and enjoy the ride.
The Cure sounding as good as ever. If you have access to BBC iPlayer, this whole concert is worth watching. I havenāt listened to their new album yet. Itās on my list for today.
I wrote this post in 2022, a year in which things in the Gill family went catastrophically wrong. Two years later, we are not fully recovered but we are doing well, and Iām confident we are where we need to be, doing what we need to do.
Grow slowly
Jeff




I never tire of your insight, Jeff. My heart gets better when I read your stuff.
Iām relieved you came out of 2022 in tact. Thereās been a lot of ādonāt borrow troubleā being uttered around my life these days (especially days like today). That and the very helpful āis something actually wrong right this moment?ā Anyway, the new Cure album is just outstanding. I canāt believe Robertās voice sounds exactly the same. Happy listening!