This is the view from the South of us, and I often like to sit there, sometimes alone, sometimes with Maria, and think about faith. I am not a conventionally religious person, but I have great confidence in human beings’ inherent decency and goodwill.

I’m no Pollyanna, I was a police reporter in some ugly and troubled places, and I know what evil human beings are capable of. I have no illusions about life.

Reason, say the mystics, is the path to faith, and faith takes over when reason has nothing more to offer. I’m past reason and well into religion. Faith is not about a perfect world or eternal happiness. Faith is about the world as it is, and our ability to accept it.

I have faith in humanity, no matter what the news says, how much poor Donald Trump lies and pleads, or how much Vladimir Putin kills innocent people. They won’t shake my faith in the good of people.

Faith comes from within and can’t be stolen or taken from the outside, as much as we are tested.

You do not need to know precisely what is happening or where it is all going, says Thomas Merton. You need to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment and embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.

For me, faith is not about certainty; it’s about questioning and struggling long before being sure and at peace.

One of my favorite Thomas Merton quotes is this: “The fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the wind, and join in the general dance.”

I accept the invitation to join in the general dance.