“Belief is the anchor that keeps us grounded in stormy weather.”

Belief is the blanket we wrap ourselves in when life seems cold and dark and harsh. It is the hope that shines in the darkened tunnels of life. Belief is the groundwork on which a life of depth and potential can be built. It is a framework, a map and a marker on the path we choose to travel. It unlocks doors and oils hinges and greases paths.

But it’s only the starting point.

Belief is passive. It’s acceptance of something as true or valuable. But when we don’t take the next step beyond belief, we remain dormant, an unrealized potential, a race horse that never leaves its stall.

How many people believe they should forgive someone and don’t? How many believe it’s best not to let fear dictate too much of their lives and do? How many people believe they were meant for more and never take the very first step into that belief?

Again, the first step has to precede the last one, but we don’t want to live our lives on the first rung of life’s ladder either. So believe (in yourself, in humanity, in God, in others, in the possibility of happiness, that life will improve, that things will change, that you can learn and grow and become and live the life you were meant to live), but then take the next step.

Believe you can. Think you can. Then act as though you can.

And persist in that belief and that thought and that action. The blending of belief, thought and action is the substance of faith, after all.

And faith, remember, is the prerequisite for miracles.