It comes down to faith, we’re told. There are many stories in many religions and mythologies of people who can walk on water as if it were solid. In most of these stories, the walker sets out with great faith in his ability. Halfway through, however, he begins to lose heart. He begins to fear. He begins to doubt. And as soon as that happens, he also begins to sink. Suddenly, the water is no longer solid and is just water again, and the doubter begins to sink.
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| It comes down to faith. |
But he is chastised as he sinks. He is told that he is sinking because he has
lost his faith, lost his belief in his own abilities. Then he takes heart and renews himself. He believes again, and as his belief becomes
more solid, so too does the water. It is
as if the water is his belief. As he doubts in his belief, the water becomes
transparent and unreliable, but as he strengthens his resolve, the water
miraculously strengthens with him and becomes solid once again.
Is the walker above the laws of Nature? Has he learned how to bend the laws of
Nature? Or has he simply learned his
true identity and to trust himself? In
some of the stories, he tells other people not to fret and worry about him
walking on water but instead to be happy and unafraid. The fretting, the worrying, the fear--they
cause depression and a loss of faith.
They cause a loss of belief. And
with the faith and belief go the walking on water. When the people calm down and become unafraid
and believe again--having been counseled to do so because they cannot do it on
their own--then the water becomes solid again, and so does their faith.
And so it looks impossible.
If you believe it is impossible, then it is. If you say to yourself, “This cannot stop
me,” and you place one foot in front of the other, unseen paths and bridges
will appear before you where moments ago there were none. If you set forth with your goal firmly in
mind and in heart, without dictating to Nature how it will be accomplished but
merely believing that it will, then the invisible becomes visible. The water becomes granite. The path is found.
