Wednesday, December 4, 2013

On Doubt and Faith

Doubt.
It isn't useful in itself, unless faith stems from it.

Imagine two mountains and you are on one of them.
To get to the other side, you want to build a bridge.
You can start on the side you are.

Doubt is like a bridge.

It appears in the form of a seed.
Then it grows into a brick that can break your previous ideas, conceptions, patterns, etc.
Then it starts growing.. taking the shape of a bridge.

The more you think the more rapidly the bridge grows.
It starts out slowly and then it catches speed.
Faster and faster.
Then it starts to slow down, as if the concrete in this bridge has started solidifying.
Then it comes to a point where it just stops.

When you stand at the edge of this bridge, the other mountain seems closer.
You can see some trees as well, make out their branches as well.
But you can't jump, this bridge is still too short.
If you stop now, then all your synthesis & analysis would go waste.

I think that's what happens in most of the cases.

But sometimes, we don't abandon the bridge.
Those times, we pick one of the few possibilities and start following them.
Imagine these possibilities as extensions of the bridge.
You can't see if they do end up on the other mountain but they certainly take you farther than your doubts.
There is one difference though.
These extensions are not permanent, you can stand/walk on them just as long as you keep moving forward; or keep actively exploring the doubt.
As soon as you stop, you are back on the bridge.

Eventually one of the extensions leads to the other side and the bridge of Doubts becomes a 4 lane highway; solid and stable.

Doubt in it self would never lead us to the other side.
Doubt plus these extensions will.
These extensions are, as I understand them, faith.

Doubt alone is akin to surrender.

Doubt is a journey.
It should always be.
It should never be a destination.
Else we'll never be able to get to the other side.
Else, we'll all be sitting at the edge of a half finished bridge.. looking at a mountain we'll never be able to explore..

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