“Faith feels expansive & brings gifts magical” Photo Credit : Vikram Phale
Faith in something
That you are in doubt ruminating
Feels to me more like fear
If it never helps your mind go clear
Faith in something merely habitual
That comes more from a need to control
Feels to me like fear and a certain limitation
If it does not bring any relief or evolution
Faith in another human
That becomes how you are dependent
Feels to me another escape of fear
If it doesn’t show you your path clear
Faith that is instilled when juvenile
That often makes authentic choice seem criminal
Feels to me a crop of anxiety fertile
If you sense different, as if your life is futile
Faith is something incredible
That makes your choice seem inevitable
Feels to you more like most logical
If it even is something that seems impossible
Faith in something beyond thinking
That is beyond ideas of exact executing
Feels to me beyond need of explanation
If at work, no fear or anxiety in question
Faith flows as if a knowing of reality
That comes of the Self, not of your owning
Feels always assured, never unsteady
If you find it, no place for fear or anxiety
P.S. Someone sent me a question “What is my fear or anxiety trying to tell me?” I asked myself ” What is the opposite of fear?” “Faith” came the answer to my mind. This poem came in response to her question. If I am lucky I might come to know if I answered her question. I am eager to know all comments and interpretations, or more questions on this.
Infinite Living 
Just a beautiful analysis of Fear and Faith.. there is said to be only two emotions.. Love and Fear.. Where Love resides fear subsides.. my words. lol that just came..
Loved your poem and much love and enjoy your weekend 🙂 ❤
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It is a delight Sue to have your first comment in kind! So true, that kind of Faith feels like nothing but Love. Your quote is a profound one 🙂 Please save it! Thank you for appreciating my poem and all your love. Wish you an amazing weekend too.
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You are very talented and Enjoy your Sunday 🙂
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You are very kind 🙂
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Oh, this is a great, profound poem. Thanky a lot for sharing.
The opposite of fear is faith. Yes that is a good idea. You write that faith partly feels like fear, so would the feeling of these opposites be the same? I rather believe that this fearfeelings about faith is just the absence of the faith … thus the doubt…..the more faith the less fear, no? Oh yes, Sue, and we should never forget love…but this becomes even more difficult.
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I am so glad you found this deep.
You are saying exactly what I mean. Fear and doubt exist because of lack of faith. As you said, the more faith the less fear! Faith feels like fear when we are not clear or becoming dependent on false ideas.
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yes but still with your last sentence I have problems…if you say “dependent on false ideas” than it is this the cause of fear which takes a bit more place from the place the faith should be…but you are completely right it is important, that the right idea is behind everything. Sometimes we have to correct only the ideas and there is more place for faith!
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Sometimes we have to correct only the ideas and there is more place for faith! – You said it all here 🙂
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But the idea is often the object of faith. Therefore, it is very important to check and correct this idea. Ultimately, then, faith must be overcome and the fear vanished. Or the idea has never been worth it and one ceases to believe in it.
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Your thought process seems to be in the right direction to me 🙂 Ideas are worth the direction they give us …it is for us to recognize how to keep moving forward.
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A very acute analysis of faith and fear. It is very easy to mistake dependency, escape or fear induced ideas for faith…your poem tells what faith should feel like and that’s just beautiful.
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Your reflection on this poem means a lot to me 🙂 Thank you for the beautiful thoughts you shared, I agree.
Dear N, my second response to your latest post is not showing up after trying repeatedly. Please check spam.
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Pleasure.
I will do that right away. 🙂
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I tried, I don’t think there is a spam folder for comments.
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You will find it on the dashboard, in the comments link on the left hand side. I periodically find comments from blogger friends there that I transfer out of there.
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found it, thank you! 🙂
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🙂
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yes you are right N.
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Such words of wisdom! Your poem has prompted me to examine my own understanding of faith. If one places faith in something or someone as a means of escaping fear, one is actually giving power to fear. Faith in oneself enables one to face fear and overcome it, rather than being dominated by fear.
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You have read deeply and perfectly into my poem. I really appreciate your words of reflection. Thank you so much 🙂
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Thank you, Pragal. You inspire me. 😊
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I am humbled and honored 🙂
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Faith is the humble admission that we do not know the totality of everything and that there are things possible of which we have no understanding therefore allowing us to believe those things which are beyond
ourselves.
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Superbly defined! Very true, once we have this, there is no fear. Thank you very much for taking the time for sharing your valuable insight!
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Faith is a beautiful thing.
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It sure is, thank you for your thought.
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Thought provoking! Faith is never forced, it just comes from within. It feels natural and the best thing to do.
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You said it perfectly and made it very simple! Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts on this.
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For me the opposite of fear is love but reading your poem I started to see the meaning of faith in this context too because when I think of faith as trust (in general) I feel love 😄
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I totally agree with you …the kind of ease that comes with true faith does make one become full of love. So they can be easily interchangeable depending on the what kind of energy we are addressing in the person. The charge on the word love and faith can be different for some people making it important to use the words differently. Trust, faith and love all become one beyond a certain point.
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yes, they all become one somewhere 🙂
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I also believe that it is difficult to separate that. I would have said first, the opposite of fear is courage. From love the opposite is hate. The opposite of belief is doubt. But I think it all interlocks and influences each other.
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True 🙂 Courage come from faith …
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True words. Faith is often misplaced when we have a fear to face. We have to explore to find our individual answer.
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We have to explore to find our individual answer – I love that you extracted this! It is indeed such an individual exploration – true faith can lead us to our most authentic choices, bringing joy to out heart and soul. Thank you very much for sharing your thought.
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A deep and reflective poem Pragalbha. Faith comes naturally to optimistic people. For me the opposite of faith can be a mix of fear and doubts.
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Thank you so much for your time and appreciation.
Or maybe, faith makes them optimistic 🙂 Your last statement is very well said.
I wish I knew your identity. Your name shows up as Someone.
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I love how to started off exploring the idea of fear and then as the poem progressed, it went to faith. The two are opposite and yet somehow combined. But true faith like you said, does not contain fear or anxiety. This has really made me think about my own feelings towards it. Perfectly wrote as always.
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🙂 It is always good to know how you see contrasts in my poems. Thank you very much always for reading and your thoughtful comment.
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Your welcome 🙂
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i felt the same!
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This sounds accurate to me. I’d never thought about it, but faith is the opposite of fear, in a sense because faith requires trust in whatever it is you’re doing; whereas, fear stems from being afraid of all types of things (e.g., the path, people, the outcome, etc.).
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fear stems from being afraid of all types of things (e.g., the path, people, the outcome, etc.). – I loved this description of fear from you. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your thoughts.
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Yes, well said! Thank you for the inspiring words!
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Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂
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Absolutely. If you find it, no place for fear or anxiety. It tells you to have faith in yourself, to trust yourself to look at it in the eye, face it and overcome the anxiety.
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Thank you so much for taking to read and comment with your thoughts.
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Very thoughtful ❤
-Kavita
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Thank you.
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Welcome 🙂
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The opposite what you have found is right.
FEAR FEARS FAITH
IS THAT OKAY
SHIVA
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Fear fears Faith …I absolutely loved this! 🙂 Thank you very much for sharing your thoughtful words.
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Yes! this is prolific and thought-provoking. One to treasure and your journey through this piece with grace. I hope you hold dear to it and put out the fire of fear, with the living water of faith. this was excellently written. thank you for sharing.
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