I wrote this today for an assignment for my writing class. From time to time, I will be posting things that I write here.


God has granted us the gift of instinct for a reason: to protect to warn, to inform, to inspire. The gift of instinct is graciously bestowed on us to battle one of the fallacies and also strengths of human nature.

Doubt.

What is doubt? Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines doubt as “to waver or fluctuate in opinion; to hesitate; to be in suspense; to be in uncertainty, respecting the truth or fact; to be undetermined.” Doubt is unique in that it is universal and is not a respecter of persons, just as instinct is universal and is ingrained in each of us.

As in so many things in life, doubt can be used for good and bad, right and wrong. Doubt can serve highly positive purposes, as it prompts us to question, which then promotes valuable introspection of one’s self, even the careful and own soul. Doubt can act as the catalyst to solidify beliefs, principles, morals and faith. Doubt can provide clarity where only confusion and uncertainty dwelled. It can create a path of meaningful, life-altering thought and the desire to seek and pursue adequate answers to critical questions. Doubt can be a protector of sorts; preventing a child from being too trusting of a stranger, or of a consumer being taken advantage of and sold faulty goods. There is a time and a place for doubt.

Doubt is the constant predator of instinct, and instinct the unwilling victim of doubt. It happens through no action of our own and comes to us as a thought, an idea, a feeling. Instinct rears its subtle head and remarkably, doubt is there to meet it, like an unexpected and uninvited dinner guest. We are then forced to acknowledge the doubt head-on, while at the same time acknowledging the instinct. Doubt and instinct occur virtually simultaneously. It is then that the crossroads occurs: do we surrender to instinct or ratify doubt? It is a tumultuous battle that silently and subconsciously takes places within us. And who will come out victorious?

We must learn the delicate balance of instinct versus doubt. One must not act on instinct alone, just as those that are crippled by doubt live a life of uncertainty, fear, mistrust and insecurity.

To use wisely the God-given instincts we as humans possess and to constructively use doubt in productive, purposeful ways is to master one of the many aspects of human nature and maximize the human experience we call life.