Faith. It's a very small word. Five letters. But for such a small word it has a big impact on, not just how I see the world around me, but how I live my life. The word "faith" stems from the Latin fides and the Middle English and Old French feid. [1] The dictionary definition is given as "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." Confidence and trust. I remember many years ago, standing at the entrance of a long hallway. It was lit for some of the way but not right to the end. My friends, for I thought them "friends" at the time, were trying to convince me if I walked down to the end, into the dark, I would find something I would like. Some undisclosed treat, chocolate perhaps. [2] I was not convinced. I didn't like the idea of exploring the unknown dark. The question I asked at the time was “Why?” I was goaded by the impression my friends were holding something back. They had knowledge I didn’t. They knew what was at the end...
As early as the 15th century people have been writing down snippets of wisdom, bits and pieces of knowledge, quotes they wanted to remember. These collections became known as Commonplace Books. Or Commonplaces for short. In 1685 the philosopher John Locke wrote a lengthy essay, in French, detailing his method of keeping a commonplace book. The treatise was translated into English in 1706 with the title A New Method of Making Common-Place-Books. Locke suggests that when we “extract anything out of an author which is like to be of future use, we may be able to find it without any trouble.” I know exactly what he means. When you read a lot, it is often difficult to put your finger on just where a particular quote came from, or where again to find a piece of information. Our brains process and store and yes, retrieve instantly a lot of information. In general we can rely on the amazing recall most of us have. However, if you are like me and read a lot on specific s...