Faith, hope, love and us

For some reason, we, as a society seem to consider a man’s belongings to define him. A father is defined by his son, a rich man by his money, and a poor man , by the lack of it. The beliefs that a man has, often define his views on life, and hence how we perceive him. When we take away his possessions, he has nothing to define himself by. That something which would make him, HIM.

If every man were to be robbed, we would have an ocean of people unable to define themselves, and would that bring sorrow or misery, I do not know.

We often let our beliefs philosophize our outlook and hence, we tend to perceive occurrences differently. A lot of people believe in offerings to deities or saints, as a way of making life easier, a hope that there is a force greater than us defining our futures. There isn’t anything wrong with hope, in fact, the last thing we should be robbed of is hope. Evil be the thief who does so. It’s interesting where faith and hope seem to coincide into a symbiosis. A relationship that moves people to adorn stone with garlands, and tie cloth around trees.

When showing me a piece of silk , that she had bought for the marble idol of a god, my mother asked me if he’d like the silk (implying the personified statue), and I couldn’t help but reply that, marble does find silk more comfortable than cotton.
I found the idea funny, but to her , it was the only way she could attempt to make her child’s unseen future less fearful, by giving herself hope.

Humans tend to move towards a solution or an action that gives them greater hope for success. Stopping someone from pursing that action, is denying them hope, and I find that immoral in principle.

Then there is another symbiosis that is very entertaining – hope and love. I know rational people that end up stuffing their pockets with, and dangling from their necks, charms for luck and love. They become conducive to trying anything that gives them hope, because, crushes do have a tryst with desperation. A desperate man is a believer, because hope motivates him to be. If he’s not trying everything , he isn’t doing his best.

I remember this episode on HOUSE M.D, where the patient was a lady, and having informed her husband that she was dying, Dr House sees him praying.

House: I was told you didn’t believe in God.

Husband: I don’t. I promised my wife I do everything I can to fix her, if I don’t pray, then I don’t do everything.