This story took me back a couple decades to a similar conversation with my then mother-in-law. I remember feeling like I was enduring an exchange that had no chance of satisfying either of us. I felt that again here, finding myself empathizing more with the man trying to get away with his mysterious box. Then, this line gave me a crisp sentence I wish I had all those years ago: “I cannot prove my faith. But, it is mine.”
Faith is so personal, and so visceral for many. It has a special property where not only external influences want to tell us how to believe but also the sheer unprovability of our beliefs can instill so much doubt and internal conflict that we get lost in what or why we believe, or not believe, in the first place.
Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad that it resonated with you, Kiesha.
This is beautiful. The courage of both characters is inspiring. Faith is so fundamental a part of who we are, yet so intimate. We’ve forgotten how to have dialogue around it. This was refreshing!
Yet again, I don’t know how you do it but my heartstrings are feeling for both characters. The key message, for me, of him thanking her for the conversation resonated so much, especially in hyper polarized environments like the one we find ourselves in this year. I feel that most of us have lost the art to have a conversation with another human being, regardless of how different they might look from us or how different their beliefs might be (in religious and political contexts alike). I’ve seen that degradation over the last decade. And the man’s palpable protection of all that is his, especially something so personal as faith, makes me want to give him a hug.
Thank you Arpi, you are too kind. It means so much that you read my writing!
I agree that it's very easy to write someone off in such a tense and arguably invasive exchange such as this one. As someone with really high 'stranger danger', I am definitely guilty of it myself. Acknowledging the other person's existence can go a long way.
Wes, I’m 🥸ing my way to 😎🌻 but you’re right. Why perfect something that wasn’t meant to be perfect to begin with? And who gets to define perfect for who anyway? Message received 🫡
This story took me back a couple decades to a similar conversation with my then mother-in-law. I remember feeling like I was enduring an exchange that had no chance of satisfying either of us. I felt that again here, finding myself empathizing more with the man trying to get away with his mysterious box. Then, this line gave me a crisp sentence I wish I had all those years ago: “I cannot prove my faith. But, it is mine.”
I’m sorry that you had such a difficult exchange.
Faith is so personal, and so visceral for many. It has a special property where not only external influences want to tell us how to believe but also the sheer unprovability of our beliefs can instill so much doubt and internal conflict that we get lost in what or why we believe, or not believe, in the first place.
Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad that it resonated with you, Kiesha.
This is beautiful. The courage of both characters is inspiring. Faith is so fundamental a part of who we are, yet so intimate. We’ve forgotten how to have dialogue around it. This was refreshing!
I think both characters have strong conviction in their approach, but as people they can still coexist
Yet again, I don’t know how you do it but my heartstrings are feeling for both characters. The key message, for me, of him thanking her for the conversation resonated so much, especially in hyper polarized environments like the one we find ourselves in this year. I feel that most of us have lost the art to have a conversation with another human being, regardless of how different they might look from us or how different their beliefs might be (in religious and political contexts alike). I’ve seen that degradation over the last decade. And the man’s palpable protection of all that is his, especially something so personal as faith, makes me want to give him a hug.
Thank you Arpi, you are too kind. It means so much that you read my writing!
I agree that it's very easy to write someone off in such a tense and arguably invasive exchange such as this one. As someone with really high 'stranger danger', I am definitely guilty of it myself. Acknowledging the other person's existence can go a long way.
From where I stand, your writing is goals. So I will keep reading and learning to find my own voice eventually 🤓
Start a substack and share your stuff too!
Wes, I’m 🥸ing my way to 😎🌻 but you’re right. Why perfect something that wasn’t meant to be perfect to begin with? And who gets to define perfect for who anyway? Message received 🫡