Pondering the Meaning of Faith

Last night, C, T and I were discussing the meaning of "faith". Traditionally, this word is associated with a lack of rationality, with a blind trust. T asked something like, doesn't faith inherently mean trusting in something that can't be proven? Sure, I agree that this is true. But I don't necessarily think that faith should be irrational. So how can we use reason to develop trust in something we ultimately can't understand?

Kahlil Gibran, one of my favorite writers to whom I often turn for guidance in understanding what I cannot, describes faith in the following way:
“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.”

Suffice it to say, I interpret this to mean that faith is not something we will ever be able to fully understand with our minds, but something that we know with our hearts. Faith involves belief in something that cannot be proven. Yet, how can we understand this quote without giving into the notion that faith is irrational? Just because our brains can't fully comprehend something doesn't mean that we shouldn't use reason to come closer to understanding the truth. Perhaps one interpretation of this quote could be that our brains alone, without the heart to guide us in our path, will certainly never come close to understanding faith.

What do others think?

Song of the Soul

I just discovered this poem by Kahlil Gibran, and it seems an appropriate and useful addition to my earlier posts today about love.

Song of the Soul
-Kahlil Gibran

In the depth of my soul there is
A wordless song - a song that lives
In the seed of my heart.
It refuses to melt with ink on
Parchment; it engulfs my affection
In a transparent cloak and flows,
But not upon my lips.

How can I sigh it? I fear it may
Mingle with earthly ether;
To whom shall I sing it? It dwells
In the house of my soul, in fear of
Harsh ears.

When I look into my inner eyes
I see the shadow of its shadow;
When I touch my fingertips
I feel its vibrations.

The deeds of my hands heed its
Presence as a lake must reflect
The glittering stars; my tears
Reveal it, as bright drops of dew
Reveal the secret of a withering rose.

It is a song composed by contemplation,
And published by silence,
And shunned by clamor,
And folded by truth,
And repeated by dreams,
And understood by love,
And hidden by awakening,
And sung by the soul.

It is the song of love;
What Cain or Esau could sing it?

It is more fragrant than jasmine;
What voice could enslave it?

It is heartbound, as a virgin's secret;
What string could quiver it?
Who dares unite the roar of the sea
And the singing of the nightingale?
Who dares compare the shrieking tempest
To the sigh of an infant?
Who dares speak aloud the words
Intended for the heart to speak?
What human dares sing in voice
The song of God?