I read this article by Danielle LaPorte, a life/career coach and all round motivator, earlier and it really struck a cord with me.
I subscribe to the idea of bright faith. Bright faith is a feeling so strong that it lifts away everything ordinary and pulls you towards whatever it’s focus is so strongly, that you can’t help but go there. It removes doubt, fear and apprehension and makes you brave. It is used in the divine sense by a fair amount of religions (notably buddhists) but I can find a place for it in my pretty atheist philosophy.
Bright faith is about gaining the courage to tackle what is hard, to leave what is safe behind and to expose yourself to risk. This is about letting the control go, taking a chance and losing the mask.
On a more mundane level, it could be interpreted as believing in yourself and not being afraid to look uncool. In a creative industry where things can get all a little cynical, the act of challenging the norm and being a little bit mad sets you apart.
Slightly closer to the stars, it could be considered that falling in love and letting someone close to your secrets is one of the biggest and scariest leaps of faith you can make. Which seems kind of relevant today.
