Faith Post - 103

Faith apparently equates to steadfastness (in Hebrew) or truthfulness (in Latin). That in itself is curious to me. There is quite a bit of difference between being steadfast and being truthful at least in my mind.

I can be steadfast in my faith but I can't always believe it's truthful. I could be steadfast in a bold faced lie. Or I can try to be truthful towards my faith but in doing so, my faith might not necessarily be steadfast. Because the truth is, it's hard for me to believe.

Perhaps it's all just semantics according to Thomas Merton - whom I would have read way less without the inspiration of John Katz. I owe his blog many thanks for encouraging me to remember how to think for myself. . .and to see beauty in my surroundings and to truly cherish our pets and daily life.

I'm only about 60 pages into Merton's Ascent to Truth book. I've been reading it for weeks. I'm a fast and furious reader most of the time but Merton slows me to a crawl. Maybe that's how he intended it to be? Am I misreading him? Am I incapable of reading him intelligently because of the topic? I'm not sure.

Sometimes while I'm reading, I'm frustrated because I feel unequipped to grasp his point of view. There are other times I completely understand.

Again, maybe that's what makes good art. (When I say art, I mean all forms of self-expression). It is familiar but pushes us outside our comfort zone simultaneously? Maybe it's the unapologetic nature of the work? Maybe it's the energy and spirit of the artist shining through? Maybe it's the artist's faith in something - God or otherwise- that allows them to produce art with true confidence and conviction?

I can assure you, you will seldom ever get good art on this blog. . .But it's still something that I want to share. . .with conviction. . .because every life is worth sharing and all human beings should connect. . .Except for those pesky serial killers. . .