Cracks...

We all start by assuming things, do we not? Yes, I understand what assumptions do to people. Yet we all assume certain things to be true; some would say factual. I would say we all operate our lives believing certain things can be counted upon. Some of these assumptions are based on fact, some are based in myth, and some are based in "old-wives tales". But we all operate our lives from the standpoint of something. I remember as a child the old saying "step on a crack...and you break your momma's back". Well, I don't know about you, but I avoided cracks in the sidewalk like they were the plague. I would dodge them in anyway possible. I know that sounds silly, but to a six year old boy, it made perfect sense to me. I assumed that to be true, and I acted in a way that it was true for me in my life.

And people are like that in everything they do. They hear little tidbits of what they think is truth and they incorporate it into their lives. It becomes a part of them. It is folded into how they think, they way they act, and the things they pass on to other people.

Some think that the only objective knowledge (knowledge that is not tainted by underlying assumptions) available to us is derived from scientific research. Not so; even scientific inquiry is guided by underlying assumptions that may be proven, or not. Both inductive and deductive reasoning involve some level of assuming. So, we all display the tendency of placing oneself out on a limb, so to speak, in solving the mysteries of life. Whether that involves science, politics, philosophy, or driving a car.

Think about it. No one has ever seen evolution in operation; no one has ever lived long enough to witness it. What is wrong with us? Anyone with any sense knows you can only trust that which you can see. How many of us have seen a combustion engine actually working? Oh yeah, and when was the last time you saw a US Senate hearing? But we accept (assume) that these activities are happening (some more so than others). Sounds a bit like we act a lot from the standpoint of faith to me...

It seems to me that faith emerges as a core virtue to humanity. Why? Because we operate in an environment where faith is necessary for the operation of life - and not just in the life of a religious people. If you consider any number of activities you find that a mode of operation involving faith. It is as essential to our mental/psychological/spiritual makeup as breathing is to our physiological makeup.

As a matter of fact, we place a lot of faith in our physiological makeup just by emerging from a state of sleep every day, or that we trust our brains to continue connecting with the major organs of our bodies to enable them to perform the functions they perform. From a psychological standpoint we would live lives of paranoia, if we could not count on the involuntary functions of the human body to perform. Can you imagine wondering if your body was going to continue its operations during the night as you slept? Yes, we all exemplify an extraordinary amount of faith each day.

One writer has explained faith this way: it is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Meaning, you cannot always see the object of your belief, but you trust that it is there nonetheless. In some cases you can see traces of its existence, but not a coherent whole that makes it undeniably real and provable. And this is where faith steps in. You sense something is, but you cannot prove it is. You hope something is there, but you cannot touch it. It is just not provable to the human senses. It is beyond the human experience, and somehow you know it is there.

I think of my spirit in much the same way. I cannot prove it is there. I cannot see it. I cannot touch it, but I see traces of its existence nonetheless. I look into the eyes of others and I see something wholly different than what I see in the eyes of those who have no life. The form of a human is so much different alive than when it is dead. Is it the heartbeat that makes the difference? Is it the act of breathing that quickens a life? Is it the brain that enables these functions to operate? No, I think it is so much more. I assume it is there, and I cannot see it. I assume it is there, and I cannot touch it. I assume it is there, and I cannot hear it.

I have never seen God at any time, and somehow I know He is. I know it does not make sense to believe in something beyond this existence, but I do. I see traces of His existence woven in and out of Creation. It is by faith that I acknowledge His existence. Even though in my mind I cannot completely make sense of Him, and His reality, I know He is there. But there are cracks in the veneer of the physical realm that reveal His presence. These cracks are glimpses into the eternal. They are hints of something beyond. These openings give us hope and faith that I am not alone in this world. They reveal a greatness beyond what I can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. Believe me, it makes all the difference in how one perceives the world.

I must confess, I sometimes side step cracks in the sidewalk to this day.