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Today's
quotation:
But
doubt is as crucial to faith as darkness is to light. Without
one,
the other has no context and is meaningless. Faith is, by
definition,
uncertainty. It is full of doubt, steeped in risk. It is
about matters
not of the known, but of the unknown.
Carter Heywood
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Today's
Meditation:
For some
reason, most of us seem to be pretty uncomfortable with
doubt. If we have doubts about God or religion, we
feel our faith isn't strong enough. If we have
doubts about our abilities to do certain things, we can
sabotage our efforts to get those things done. Doubt
can be pretty destructive in certain circumstances, but it
can be quite enlightening and constructive in
others. I think that the most important thing to
consider about our doubts is recognizing when they're
legitimate and when they're false, and when they can help
us to learn and grow and when they keep us from doing so.
I
want to have certain doubts, for they keep me from
accepting things on the surface level that may be
dangerous to accept. Is this person telling me the
truth about something very important? My doubt may
be an important ally in finding out that I can't trust
someone. Does this research accurately define a
certain problem? My doubts may lead me to research
the problem myself and learn something very important.
The
doubts that I want to dispel are those that keep me
limited, those that make me feel that I can't accomplish
something that's well within my capabilities. If I
pay too much attention to my doubts, I may never run that
marathon or write that novel or ask that person to have
coffee or dinner with me. And if I have too many
doubts about the capabilities of the people with whom I
share my life-- my spouse, my children, my friends-- I may
never allow them to take risks and grow and shine brightly
for all to see.
We
have to be careful with our doubts-- we can't let them
limit us or define us, but we also need to pay attention
to those that can help us make our ways through
life. Just as with people, some doubts can be our
allies, while others are enemies. It's up to us to
figure out which are which, and deal with them
accordingly.
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