A life can be lived in a spectrum. At both ends are the following:
- A life in pursuit of peak moments (fishes)
- A life that rejects peak moments and is always in despair
In the middle of this spectrum is a new way, a middle way, “the way of faith.”
Per Henry Bugbee, faith is like fishing. Faith is actively waiting (i.e., constantly open) to whatever comes. Faith is being committed to what the river may bestow. It is also a recognition that we can’t control when the fish comes.
The way of faith is not concerned about the availability and durability of peak experiences. Peak experiences are only here to affirm the holiness of the world, the worthiness of things, and the worthiness of our life around things no matter the circumstance.
This is the middle path that leads to contentment. This is why contentment is always a choice.
The real job here is keeping that faith and nurturing it, practicing it, actively pursuing meaning and the search for affirmations for this faith.
Faith as used by Shinichiro Imaoka in his concept of free religion refers to openness to one’s mind, heart, and neighbor.
References
Webb, S. E. (1999). Presence, Memory, and Faith: Passages from a Notebook on The Inward Morning. In E. F. Mooney (Ed.), Wilderness and the Heart: Henry Bugbee’s Philosophy of Place, Presence, and Memory (pp. 32–72). The University of Georgia Press.