Faith (part 2, and Beauty too) - September 9th, 2006

Faith continues to be a theme in my yoga practice of late. It continues to pervade my thoughts. I've moved past the questioning stage of this phase and am now focused more on the importance of faith in all its forms in my yoga practice. It's made me realize the importance of faith in my life and how having it helps me get through each day and better understand the peaks and valleys of this life. And as usual, I am going with this current flow of my universe because I believe it's leading me somewhere significant.

First of all I want to share some things I think are beautiful. To me, beauty and faith go hand-in-hand. If you don't understand that, I can't explain it with words. Marcia, the girls and I went to Crowders Mountain on Labor Day because we wanted to take a little road trip and because changing your everyday scenery can be good for the spirit. I took my camera (I am a sometimes photography hobbyist) and was very excited to take pictures. It was a good day. We had some child struggles but overall it was fun. The area is beautiful and it was definitely nice to get out in the woods for a bit.

Beautiful things. Unbelievable things. Beautiful, unbelievable things that defy explanation no matter how hard we try with our various sciences to explain. From the finite of an electron shell to the macro of the milky way, it's all too beautiful and unbelievable to be defined by us. And no matter how hard I have tried in the past, I can't explain it away by calling it random. It's just too damn perfect to be random. Which brings me back to faith and another beautiful thing.

Shawn Mullins is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. There is something about his point of view that I can relate to. He came out with a new album recently and I love it because it's pure. He didn't over produce it. He didn't try to outshine the glory of his past. He just made some good music. One song on the album has really been calling me a lot lately. It's called "Faith." It's not a brilliant song. But it is a beautiful song. The thing I really love about it is that it's a love song with a dual meaning. At least that's my interpretation of it. He loves a woman. He also needs faith. He loves faith. Maybe the woman is faith. It's best listened to but the lyrics are below.

Pain, come no more
Don't you come knockin' on my door
Love, dry your tears
You have lived a life way beyond your years

And faith, when you're gone
All my demons and my devils they do me wrong
And faith, you let your light shine through
Let a ray of hope surround me
Just don't think I can make it without you

Hey faith, don't let me down
Let me know when I come back she'll be around
'Cause I've been burned, a time or two
If she left me Lord, I don't know what I'd do

And faith, when you're gone
All my demons and my devils they do me oh so wrong

And faith, you let your light shine through
You let a ray of hope surround me
Just don't think I can make it without you

In the morning you know
I wake up with the dawn
Everyday, there's a way
You know I got to carry on
To know the way and take the road right and wrong
And keep faith in my heart
Just keep faith in your heart

Pain, come no more
Don't you come knockin' on my door
Love, please be strong
'Cause I need the peace of mind to carry on
And faith, when you're gone
All my devils, all my demons, you know, they do me wrong
And faith, you let your light shine true
You let a ray of hope surround me
You came back home and found me
Searching for the love I never knew