Awareness

I've been reading this great book by Tony De Mello, S.J., Awareness. It's basically a retreat he used to give. It's actually hard to get through, not because it's too complicated but because it's so incredibly rich. It's the kind of book you read a page and think, whoa, I need to sit with that.

I came across a stop the presses idea like that last week. He was talking about faith and belief.

An openness to the truth, no matter what the consequences, no matter where it leads you and when you don't even know where it's going to lead you. That's faith. Not belief, but faith.  Your beliefs give you a lot of security, but faith is insecurity. 

It seems to me, one legitimate way in which we can form our identities is by way of what we hold on to, what we claim is true.

De Mello's point as I read it is that for the believer there is another way that emerges not out of what we claim, but how much we're willing to risk.  

And consequently, as crazy as it will sound, if you're feeling scared, uncomfortable, way out of your depth, maybe that doesn't mean you've strayed far from the path or that God has abandoned you in some fundamental way. Maybe it just means you're doing something right.