Faith
What is faith? Faith is both a feeling and an intellectual decision, which causes you to believe and trust in someone or something without the knowledge that your belief and trust are deserved. Also, doubt and continuous reflection about what one puts their faith in are necessary for one to have true faith.
Faith is common and essential to all human beings. In going about our every day lives, we continuously make decisions based on faith, from having faith that the carpool is coming in the morning to believing and trusting that the cafeteria ladies are not trying to poison us with the daily meal.
A life without faith would be truly impossible. One without faith couldn�t use books; if they did, they would put faith in the authors. One couldn�t go anywhere without walking; otherwise, they would put faith in the vehicle�s builder. One without faith could not depend on anyone or anything, from the government to their parents. In this way, faith can be applied to just about every daily situation.
Just because everyone must have faith does not mean that people should have faith in everyone and everything. Judging for one�s self what to put faith in allows one to think about what they hear first, rather than just blindly following it. This is the intellectual aspect of faith. If someone put their faith in everything they heard, not only would their beliefs and trusts contradict themselves, but that person would not be making decisions on their own. In doing so, they could be misplacing their faith, which can lead to disaster.
Also, absolute faith can only be misguided faith. Even if one believes that someone or something is entirely good, they can never place absolute faith in anyone or anything. Continuous reflection on what someone has faith in, even doubting their faith, contributes to a more complete picture of who they are and what faith means to them. If one has absolute and unquestioning faith in something else, they could be hurt while their back is turned. One must not be paranoid, but aware of what one believes, and, therefore, who to put their faith in.
Faith is a complex issue, and human beings are by their nature complex. Every person�s life is different, and, therefore, the faith aspects of different peoples� lives are predictably different. At a young age, people tend to place their faith where their parents placed their faith, whether the parents� faith was well founded or misplaced. As one matures, they must take time to think about what is worth putting their faith in, what they truly value. This requires reflection, using the intellect and the heart, the inner feelings.
Being aware that one does have faith in people and things is the first step towards a positive reflective state. They then must find in whom and what they place their faith, while thinking about whether or not they truly value who or what they have faith in. At the very least, this will help one take a step back and view their present place in life from afar. Any time someone takes a step back and truly reflects on life, he or she can only become better.