Really, You Gotta Have Faith

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I’m a big fan of the late singer-songwriter George Michael. I actually saw him in concert a couple times in Los Angeles. I remember I was in graduate school in 1985 when I heard “Careless Whisper”. What a vocal. What amazing lyrics. His band “Wham!” was pretty much an experiment for George’s solo career.

In 1987 George galvanized as the pop music cultural icon with the release of his album, “Faith”. I recall the debut of his music video for “Faith” on MTV (watch below): George in a leather jacket, aviator shades, shaking his ass, and playing his guitar. He literally took the entire music world by storm. I loved other songs on the album more like his Grammy Winning Song of the Year, “Father Figure” – a dark haunting lament on obsession.

Over the years I discovered a deeper fondness for his “Faith” and his lyric, “You gotta have faith…” Unfortunately, George seemed to have lost his faith along the way since 1987, suffering from depression and drug addiction. Seemingly, ready for yet another comeback the gifted singer-songwriter died in his home in London on Christmas Eve in 2016. He was only 53 years old. He was a year younger than me.

Tragically, George lost his faith. I had at one time too, so I had great compassion that he did not endure long enough for his brighter new day. His was the bright light darkened too soon. How do you keep the faith against the odds?

The odds of winning the MegaMillions jackpot is 1 in 302,575,350. I usually buy my ticket when the jackpot hits around $300 million or so. Obviously, I’ve never won. Yet.

I studied Information Theory in graduate school. Every event has a certain probability of occurrence. Like the probability of getting heads when you flip a quarter is 0.5 or 50%. Entropy measures the amount of information in units called bits, when that event occurs. Winning the MegaMillions jackpot equates to 19.5 bits of information. On the other hand, consider the sun rising in the morning. That has the likelihood of nearly 100%. The sun rises in the morning equates to nearly 0 bits of information.

So there is more information in the less likely, the less probable. Consequently, more information occurs in the surprise. That’s the value of having faith for the surprise.

Yeah, there’s the continual uncertainty in the life ahead. Like my dear friend Steve told me, “Only a goddammed fool thinks he controls anything.” Instead, surrender to the uncertainty of life: That I may discover what gives me purpose, that I may discover the love of my life. Possibilities shall arise in the life shared with others.

In 1990 I met Sensei Dan. What were the chances of me becoming an Aikido Sensei at that time? Nearly, zero. Yet, Sensei listened for the greater within me. He gave me faith. I grew to have faith in me. Now, I get to pass on all that he gave to me to others. It’s about love, Youngblood.

Last year I undertook writing my first book. Like George, I had endured darker times. I wrote about my love of movies, martial arts, poetry, and Shakespeare influencing my perspective on life. I wanted to make some difference for perhaps at least one other person out there who had lost his or her faith. As George sang: You gotta have faith.

I’ve studied Information and Probability Theory along with other mathematics. They provide the numbers and the likelihood. I’ve discovered that despite the numbers and likelihood, “you gotta have faith.”

You gotta have faith in you. Look for what’s possible, as remote as that might seem. Discover what you love; do it with all your heart. No, we don’t control a damn thing in life. We do, however, have a say in what gives us joy, what gives us purpose. Really, you just gotta have faith.
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