Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The discussion forum at NCM met again on 14th October 2023, Saturday with the subject Faith & Trust. The session began where Dr. Shah posed a question, if Faith and Trust are same or different? All the participants opined that although the words faith and trust are used interchangeably but they are different. Faith is a noun while Trust is a verb. Faith comes from our belief system and is therefore permanent. Trust does not come from our belief system. Trust is built through our relationship with someone we build over a period of time and is therefore not permanent. The discussion proceeded with another question; is it possible to have faith in someone you don’t trust or to have faith without trust? At this point Dr. Shah shared a wonderful story of Charles Blondin and Harry Colcord to illustrate what true faith is!
Blondin was the foremost tightrope walker of his time. He gained worldwide fame in 1859 as the first person to cross Niagara Falls. Colcord was his friend and manager. Blondin walked 160 feet above the falls several times back and forth between Canada and the United States. Over several weeks, Blondin walked backward, blindfolded, back flipped, pushed a wheelbarrow, and even cooked an omelet during one of many trips across the rope.
At one such daredevil stunt Blondin stopped suddenly and asked the audience “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” The crowd enthusiastically responded, “Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe!” “Okay,” said Blondin, “Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow.” As far as the Blondin story goes, no one did at that time! But in August of 1859, Charles Blondin’s manager, Harry Colcord, did ride on Blondin’s back across the falls.
This unique story illustrates a real life picture of what faith actually is. The crowd watched these daring feats. They said they believed. But, their actions proved they truly did not believe. Blondin had faith that he could accomplish these feats, but he also trusted his abilities to complete them. This is the difference between faith and trust. The spectators had faith in Blondin and believed in his abilities. But only Colcord trusted him enough to climb on his back and allow him to carry him across.
The theme for next Discussion Forum is Tit for Tat.
