You don’t have to have it all figured out. Well, maybe the next few steps. Maybe the plan for today, maybe even the plan for next year. But when it just plain looks like things are going to turn out badly, it’s time to throw out the future and just put one foot in front of the other. This is the practice of faith.
Faith has nothing to do with what will happen. That’s hope. Faith is different than hope. Faith is remembering that life is not about our survival. Faith is remembering that the universe simply was not designed to fit within our agenda. Faith is allowing that perhaps, just perhaps, we don’t understand this.
Now, it is easy to talk about the lack of importance of our survival while I have a steaming quesadilla right in front of me, but it’s also easy to talk about running a marathon. A lot of people that talk about running marathons end up running them. This is practice. Practice is never about what is easy or difficult, it is simpler than that.
We have every reason to fear what is to come. We won’t survive it. No one will. No one ever has. When what we know to be true is cleaned of self-concern, the way forward is clear. This takes practice, diligent practice. Don’t settle for confusion. Please use this life well.