Skip to main content

The fluctuating nature of faith

My first week of Ramadan has been about unpacking faith, head on. Faith is often portrayed so beautifully, as though it is an ideal state - untainted, divine, perfect when in reality, it fluctuates, with tides and waves and seasons. I believe that our relationship with faith is deeply personal, multifaceted and complex. Hence, I'm more inclined to believe that markers of 'faith' would go beyond norms or external standards, especially during this holy month when there is greater emphasis on rewards and deeds. This isn't to undermine the merits of acts of worship (which could take on various forms) or setting of personal goals or the desire to do better, but recognizing that faith is a process in itself, a personal journey which isn't only confined to the dimensions of action/inaction but also in thinking and reflecting about the difficult questions and most importantly, in approaching ourselves authentically and facing our fallibility and flaws (in essence, our humanness) head on. It involves wrestling with inquiry, introspection, self-examination and doubt. Neither should the marker of faith be mere feelings of spiritual high, but rather, recognising that these feelings are possible by-products of that journey of seeking faith. Hence it is in this journey of faith that it is prone to fall, to be messy, to be stagnant, to look ugly, and isn't self-affirming or feel good all the time. Again, this too doesn't mean that one is lacking faith, but only through exploring faith on a deeper level do we discover these imperfections.

 I stumbled upon this quote from one of my favourite books, The 40 Rules of Love, by Elif Shafak, which resonates my reflections and contemplation on the essence of faith:

 In this world, it is not similarities or regularities that take us a step forward, but blunt opposites. And all the opposites in the universe are present within each and every one of us. Therefore the believer needs to meet the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever should get to know the silent faithful in him. Until the day one reaches the stage of Insane-I Kamil, the perfect human being, faith is a gradual process and one that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

There's always 1001 things to do

Now, I supposed most Singaporean bloggers will harp about the flood at Orchard Road. I shall skip that, although I'd like to add that I actually woke up this morning (11 am) feeling so good because the weather's nice. Little did I know for two hours there was a flood at Orchard Road and to think that such occurences are rarity. Ok I hope they would start doing something to the drainage system. Working at Media C. for 2 days was quite an experience, except that Aiman and I did nothing much on Sunday and we kind of did a million more things on Monday because we had ongoing tasks to do. Plus we've met exciting people and also, hmm, interesting people (of whom we secretly gave nicknames for us to refer to). I suddenly thought of The Devil Wears Prada and I actually wonder how the life of assistants are in this line of work, are they really treated like shit? Is that a part of climbing up the ladder in this career path? Ok random. The awesome thing is really to see how they swi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dumbledore

I know this is probably another random entry. But I'm excited for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows movie and I suddenly thought about the day when I read through the final pages of Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince. I must admit, I was actually mourning for the great Albus Dumbledore when he died (or got killed rather). Not the kind of mourning that goes on for days, just a momentary one. And I pictured in my mind, how everyone in Hogwarts were mourning for their beloved Headmaster and how solemn the environment must have felt to the extent that I actually thought that the bedroom where I was, in this tiny, little Singapore, felt equally dull and grey as well. It's impressive how characters come alive like that and reel me into the world of stories. I even had texted Revathi about how sad I felt when I was done with the book. Pardon for the melodrama, but it's the power of narration, and of course the brilliant writer herself, J.K Rowling. And certainly, the mo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Artichoke

HAHA! Si tu le dis : you know what archuleta sounds like Si tu le dis : it sounds like artichokes sakinah : what! sakinah : HAHA sakinah : YEAH! sakinah : the french vegetable! Si tu le dis : thus, vegetables. As a matter of fact, I did taste artichoke, and it's pretty good. Very delicious vegetable indeed, right Alvin? HAHAHAH!
Post a Comment
Read more