Faith is a very effective technology for maintaining emotional equilibrium even when perceived facts warrant otherwise. This might sound like a cynically sarcastic criticism, but it's actually a flat-out compliment. And that in turn might sound like a cynically utilitarian observation. There is, however, a whole bunch of heft beyond that, too.
Try, for example, replacing "faith" here with "optimism": the same core idea comes through. No matter what you call it---nor whether you bring a big glob of theology along with it or not---here is a tougher help than most: a generosity towards the future.
2 comments:
Well said. When you're right about a situation being hopeless, it's still better (and, if you'll pardon the obsolete terminology, nobler) to maintain equanimity if you can; and when you're wrong, hopelessness is liable to drive you to actions you'll regret later. Faith in this (rather abstracted) sense is meta-rational: the best strategy to follow given that our perception and reason are not infallible.
I like your post. It's very positive! I hate it when others try to interpret your reality with their own, perceived ideas of what's real and what isn't. And, I agree, hopelessness invariably leads to actions that you regret later on...
And I may have committed just such an action yesterday. Oops!
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