These Things I Still Believe In

I was toying with the idea of a different cosplay for one of my favorite book series, and I thought about this:

If I were to wield a sword of Faith, what would it be of?

First thought I had was, “I might have picked up the wrong sword here.” But I thought further, and realized – if the wielder of the sword of Hope could be an agnostic – couldn’t my definition of Faith, too, be flexible? Or at least, my own.

Therefore, I decided I believe/have believed in these things:

1. Truth hurts. But, it can be a thing you need for healing. You can cry about it all you want, but it’s usually a necessary first step.

2. Nothing is impossible. It’s just that some things are really, really improbable.

3. There is always something of beauty to be found in the world. This one sounded contrived, but really, it’s true. Any common human city has a flower or two in it. And that’s not really accounting for if you include the range of people’s ability to find beauty in things. Any time someone can find the silver lining in something, there’s beauty. Some people hate the heat, but love the snow. Some people hate the cold, but feel joy when the sun comes out.

4. Related to 2. and 3. – I believe that every human being is capable of reason in this world. I know – that doesn’t mean everyone will choose to use it. But we all have the capability to do it. We can all make a wiser choice and a less wise choice. There are often multiple choices.

I like to think of redemption in terms of people’s ability to be their best selves. If you envisioned this person in Heaven, with all their pettiness and suffering behind them, every day they’re hangry and have come out on top, every day they’ve had to contemplate their choices, all the passage of time to forgive everyone in the past, and the courage to face what they need to face and make better choices – what would they look like? How would they speak with a smile on their face? What would it look like if they had rest?