The Power of Believing in What We Can’t See

I remember a cool, dark autumn evening 10 years ago on Thanksgiving Sunday when my husband, girls, and I were loading our luggage back into the car. We needed to leave my parents’ house in smalltown rural Ontario earlier than expected because my brain injury symptoms were causing me major havoc. My brain was in a state of constant headache. I had just suffered a brain injury 2 months earlier and being in the house surrounded by our extended family was more than I could take. I had completely underestimated the impact of this brain injury on my life.

I was so sad to be feeling sick and be leaving my parents’ house earlier than anticipated. My Dad pulled me aside before I got into the car and told me that on a recent vacation he and Mom had taken for their 40th anniversary to Pennsylvania, he saw a sign posted outside of a church that said, “Live Life by Faith, Not by Sight.”

My Dad was the smartest person I’ve ever met. He was my Google before Google even existed, but I wouldn’t call him a philosopher. Yet this saying really stuck with him. He wanted me to know that healing and life beyond the brain injury could be possible. Even though, all I could see was pain. There could still be more.

My Dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer shortly after that night and died 9 months later at the age of 66 years of age. He wouldn’t get to see much more healing for me. But, he kept believing that for his “dearest daughter” (as he called me…mind you I was his only daughter!) anything’s possible. Dad opened my eyes that evening to trusting what is and having faith even against the odds. In this busy world, we are always demanding proof. And ‘proof’ often comes down to what we can see. But, there are a lot of things out there we may see that are actually not real. Like the ‘perfect’ lives of others on social media.

Is there something you really want in your life or career right now? You feel in your gut that it is going to come to fruition although you have no idea how. And, it might feel like it could be way out of your league? I learned from my Dad on that Thanksgiving night that this is when we need to tap into our inner knowing and trust. To hold onto hope and believe, even in the darkness.

There are many great role models for us in the world around having faith and following a path even when there is no proof it will work out. What if Bill Gates was working on the computer in his garage and thought, “this is stupid, there is no way this PC Microsoft thing will work?”

You never know what is possible unless you are able to take a leap of faith and tap into your inner knowing. Summon up the conviction and confidence within yourself to go for it.

Now, sometimes these things can take a while to manifest. And this is where that believing what you can’t see really gets tested. We live in a world that often leads us to believe that life is about instant gratification. Sometimes that can be the case. But when it comes to many important areas in life, we may have to put in the effort and be patient…almost like we know a little secret that no one else knows…and wait for it to unfold.

My challenge to you is next time you think of something that could be really important, start to plant the seeds to make it happen. Keep dreaming, even visualizing, and take action. It could happen for you quickly or may take some time to come to fruition. Perhaps, the scenario will even look a little different than you initially anticipated. Chances are it will be for the best.

It is not easy for me to sit back and trust as I like to have control and traditionally have been an action-oriented person. But, I have come to see that sometimes we need to let go of our need for proof that something will work out and just put in the effort and trust our instincts.