The ‘F’ Word

14th November 2020

The smell was distinctly dog. You could smell the frenzy, the excitement, and the anticipation clearly. High pitched yappings were mixed with low grumbling woofs. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes at the rescue centre. Some were kept in groups and some had their individual pens. Multiple tails were wagging and countless eyes were bright, shouting, “Pick me! Pick me!”

There was a single red cocker spaniel seating stoically, with his tail slowly wagging, like a broom sweeping the floor. He sat fairly still with his head cocked. He looked remarkable in his stillness in the midst of all the movement. He stood out. He did not appear to want or desire to attract attention. Yet, he stood out. You could see he had active Faith. A belief that a suitable guardian would pick him, no matter what.

Beside his kennel, there was a smooth coated black and white Collie. She was huddled in a corner with her tail tucked under her carriage. She glanced furtively around, not able to relax. You could see the white of her eyes and she looked uncomfortable in her own skin. She looked like she did not want to be approached. Her body language exclaimed, “Please leave me alone. Please do not come near me!” Her posture was subdued and she reeked of Fear.

Faith and Fear are two distinct feelings. Though seemingly different, they do share some characteristics. First of all, they are both imaginary. They are not physical though they can seem to be. They are both created in your mind though you may perceive you have gotten them from external sources. They are not real though the feelings and the effects they produce are strong enough to make you physically sweat, increase your heartbeat, and sometimes, even cause you to collapse.

Let’s consider Fear for a moment. Where does your Fear come from? Is it real or is it imagined? Does it need certain circumstances to show up or is it there all along? What makes you Fear? What do you Fear? Does your Fear also show up with the same triggers reliably or does it only show up sometimes? What function does it play? Does it empower you or make you weaker? Does it allow you to pick the right decisions or is the outcome usually not desired? How do you get rid of your Fear? Are your achievements limited because of your Fear?

You may have fears that stop you from living your life in full. It inhibits you from making decisions that you really want to make to live a life you deeply desire and truly deserve. It does not allow you to take the necessary actions you know you have to make to have a chance to obtain the results you want. The feeling of Fear could be so intense that it is palpable and you cannot help but believe it is real. That is a lie.

Now, let’s consider Faith. Where does your Faith come from? Is it real or is it imagined? Does it need certain circumstances to show up or is it there all along? What gives you Faith? What do you have Faith in? Does your Faith also show up with the same triggers reliably or does it only show up sometimes? What function does it play? Does it empower you and allow you to pick the right decisions or does it cloud your thoughts and judgment?

Your faith may have allowed you to live your life in full. It allowed you to make decisions that enabled you to live a life you truly deserved and deeply desired. You made choices without a doubt even when you did not possess all the facts others might think necessary to make those decisions. Your Faith could be so intense that it is palpable and you cannot help but believe it is real. That is also a lie.

These two feelings are imaginary. You cannot hold it, see it, hear it, or taste it. They are only real if you make them so. They can be extremely powerful that enables or hinders you to make decisions and/or take actions. The difference is that Faith is a choice. It demands a concentration of thoughts and a deliberate organisation of focused energy. You have to physically and consciously work on it so that it is present. Fear, on the other hand, is undirected, occurs without any help and thoughts are usually disorganized with no focus. Its energy is merely present but not concentrated and requires no active participation from you.

Once you realised that both your Faith and Fear are not real, if you are going to have an imaginary feeling, you might as well practice deliberate thought and invest your energy in choosing Faith instead of Fear as it is more likely to empower you, make better decisions resulting in better outcomes. Remember what you focus on, you feel. What you feel creates your experiences and those experiences create your life.

Control your mind, control your life. Can you direct your energy to form Faith or will you allow undirected energy to create Fear?

‘The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.’

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