I Believe You

Lately, in the past month, I’ve been responding in my conversations with, “I believe you.”

You know that bigger guy that was covering me? Every time he was guarding me, he elbowed me.

Really? Wow. I believe you, man.

What is belief? Belief is a surge of encouragement. It makes you fearless, but being fearless simply means you devalue your fears. Your hesitations and reservations are acknowledged, but when you believe — or if someone else believes in you — those fears vanish, and it is only you and your challenge. ((It’s interesting to notice that belief is something that depends on struggle. Without struggle, is there any basis for belief? Without struggle, belief would have no basis. Everything would be, and, under that circumstance, if all is as it is, then you need not believe. Even in menial beliefs such as believing that the grass is green, and that your fingernails are yours, struggle exists in that the grass may be purple, and your fingernails may be the rightful property of a beluga whale. Then, we might ask, do we believe what we know? Or how does belief become knowledge, or knowledge belief?))

I hope that I am not saying this phrase in vain or making it trite. Belief, like love, is something precious, and it should be carefully spent. ((If you are convicted of a belief, you should have no fear in testing it, looking for reasons to not believe, but with the faith that you will never find a reason to disbelieve, yet with the rationale to accept what cannot be believed. I wonder, do we believe in this capacity that often? I don’t think so; believing in something is one of the hardest things we’ll ever do. (borrowed from Prefontaine) ))

• Belief