Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen isn't really just about fishes. It's a British romantic-comedy that focuses on a wealthy Yemeni sheikh's vision of introducing salmon fishing into the desert country. Sceptics believe it's never a possibility; the scientist thinks that it is physically impossible; the British government wouldn't want to support it.

Yet it introduces faith in an interesting analogy:
Sheikh Muhammed: You're not a religious man?

Dr. Alfred Jones: No. No, I'm not.
Sheikh Muhammed: But you're a fisherman, Dr. Jones.
Dr. Alfred Jones: I'm sorry, I don't follow.

Sheikh Muhammed: How many hours do you fish before you catch something? Dozens?

Dr. Alfred Jones: Gosh, hundreds sometimes.

Sheikh Muhammed: Is that a good use of your time for a facts-and-figures man? But you persist in the wind and the rain and the cold with such poor odds of success. Why? Because you're a man of faith, Dr. Alfred.

FAITH was the underlying theme on many occasions:

• When Dr Jones refused to take on the project
• When Sheikh caught a salmon once he started fishing
• When Harriet was worried whether boyfriend Robert was killed in war
• When Dr Jones decided to use farm fishes
• When salmons swimmed in the wrong direction before correcting their path
• When one fish provided the glimmer of hope after the disaster
• When Dr Jones decided to have a new beginning - in both his career and love-life
• When they decided to try again after a massive failure

If it wasn't faith, what was it? As mentioned by Paul Torday, 'Faith is the cure that heals all troubles. Without faith there is no hope and no love. Faith comes before hope, and before love.'

So easy to say, yet so difficult to grasp. How do I have faith, without having blind faith? How do I define faith, without questioning too much of it? And most importantly, how do I know I have that faith in myself?