Hang In There

watch original V-Blog in Persian

Whether you’re religious or absolutely not, you most definitely “believe”. Beliefs are what shape our realities. If we believe we are worthy and noble, we live a different life than if we believe we’re unworthy and low. And our thoughts have a huge impact on our beliefs, because whatever we perpetuate we internalize and after a while we eventually believe. That is why it is very important that we focus on positive things all the time – and look for the good in people, even if it means we have to do some diggin’!

But there are times in our lives where “faith” or “belief” in “goodness” or “Godness” (you pick what works best for you) becomes extremely difficult. When we are pushed to the limits of our mental and spiritual capacity we find it difficult to “believe”. A mother whose child is taken from her and perhaps tortured before her or kidnapped never to come back again may not immediately regain the kind of faith she had while she was sitting over a turkey at Christmas last year. Of course there are those whose faith is fuelled by hardship and who embrace the extreme situations of life with open arms according to the motto “with fire we test the gold”.

But for those of us who find it more difficult to respond with such excitement in times of hardship, there is one little thought I’ve found helpful when there seems to be nothing around me but darkness. That thought is the inspiration I get from the physical world. When our bodies - our physical lives - are acutely endangered there comes a surge of extreme power, when we find it in us to hold on, with the last of our energy, to the straw, to the branch, to the rock, to the shred of wood that may keep us alive. And I believe that when our faith is acutely endangered we need to do the same – we need to hold onto whatever piece of hope we can find to keep us going until help comes and we can begin to recover. It reminds me of when we first switch off the light and the darkness that envelopes us seems so absolute. But with time, our eyes can discern some nuances of light. With time, things become a little better.