Faith and Trust-
As the new year dawns, we tend to hear a lot about what is coming next…next this month, next this quarter, next this year. Regardless of the emphasis on living in the moment and staying present – we still are endlessly considering the future. I don’t really know what orientation to time dogs understand – my dogs always seem to know what time it is..time for breakfast, time for treats, time for bed. They move through life with total faith and trust that all those things and more will arrive as they need them.
My book, which comes out later this Spring, tells stories of trust and faith that I have learned from my canine family. Lessons like = stop worrying – stop planning – stop thinking the answers are in the future. As Ram Dass so famously said…Be Here Now.
When we listen to the news, faith may seem naïve….faith in what…and trust may seem even more naïve. Who do we listen to and who do we believe? Rather than sifting through who is trustworthy – we can look internally at the wisdom and knowingness that we each possess. The answer to where we find faith and in what, is within our own intuitive and always reliable, true self. It might depend on what question we ask – one of my favorites is “what is mine to do”? What would Love say about this situation? When I have the presence of mind to do that, I can feel the automatic relaxation that happens when I focus on what matters and wait for the message that is right in front of me.
Today was a day to exercise both faith and trust – to lean in – to my own inner compass for direction and to magnify Trust that the answer will come. A Spiritual classic describes it this way – Trust will solve every problem now. Although the above photo is not my dog but I guess its Microsoft (we can call him Mike) – he has the look of complete doggie knowingness and I take his cue and deepen my own version of absolute Trust.
As we begin this new year, I highly recommend these two qualities as a focus…its not about religious faith although you may want that – its about knowing who you truly are. More on that in the next few blogs. Peace.
