Through the tunnel vision of the present, we can only see what is in front of us. What stares us in the face. And most of the time, it makes little to no sense to us at all. Because when we only see life in pieces, we miss what makes those pieces fit together.
Faith
As a small child I was taught to have faith. To trust that God would protect me from harm and that I would be kept safe. It took one man less than 5 minutes to utterly destroy that belief.
Since then, every day of my life has been a journey to discovering truth. The truth of what happened to me, the truth behind the lies I was told, and the ultimate truth that every attempt to destroy my spirit and the essence of who I am would and will undoubtedly fail.
I am not saying that this was an easy conclusion to come to. The very definition of faith is to believe something without being provided proof. So to simply accept blindly that all which had befallen me, be it good or bad, was just a part of something bigger took an inner strength I didn’t know I possessed. But the second I did- the moment I realized this truth, everything immediately fell into place. Like magic. Suddenly I could see my life as a whole and I wasn’t the least bit confused about where I was going or who I was going to be. I was at peace. Amidst the shattered bits of my past I found certainty. And I am positive that the only way for anyone to see that needle in the haystack is to simply believe that it is there.
Acceptance
Our world is filled with questions. When tragedy strikes, our first response is to wonder “Why?” As if the answer would somehow silence our fears and bring us comfort. But knowing why is not what brings us peace. What gets us there is our acceptance that although we may not understand the reason for these events, a reason still exists.
If I was to look at a glass of water sitting in front of me and say, “There is nothing there,” how would I ever be able to drink it? The same goes for everything in our lives and in the world around us. In order to grow, change, and improve- we must first accept things as they truly are, whether we want to or not. Because by acknowledging the problem, we empower ourselves to solve it.
Moving Forward
I have found that when taking steps in faith, luck is unnecessary. I don’t believe in chance or coincidence. And I am certain a path has been made for each of us that will lead to exactly where we are meant to be. Sometimes our paths may run parallel to one another, sometimes in direct opposition. Yours may take you to a place very different from mine for a while. But I also believe that if we were to view our separate paths as parts of each other, as pieces of something much bigger, we would see that it all makes sense. We are all ultimately headed in a single direction: Forward. We are constantly changing, perpetually growing, continually learning. We do not have to be creatures of habit simply because we’re used to seeing ourselves that way. We have been given the gift of introspection and the power to stimulate change within ourselves and in our world. I do not wish to waste those gifts but instead choose to embrace them and let them be a piece of me in everything I do every day for the rest of my life. And it is my sincere hope that as you read this, you begin to clearly see the potential within yourself and make the same decision.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
~Henry S. Haskins
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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