We all know that trust is a fragile thing. Trust can take a lifetime to build and a moment to obliterate. Whether you are in a relationship, a family, running a company or a country, mistrust, as we have all witnessed since 911, can cost billions of dollars. Installing alarms, hiring guards, paying for insurances, inventing more complicated technology to foil more sophisticated scams are just a few examples of the extras we pay for “security.” And yes, mistrust has created an economy all of its own . . . for some.
But what is the real cost to each and every one of us? While billions are spent to save us from a real or anticipated attack, theft or loss, what is it doing to our minds? How much time and energy do we waste on fear? Since 911, none of us get a case of the warm and fuzzies going through security at the airport. And that invasiveness is not just affecting our physical beings─it’s doing a number on our psyches. Fear accumulates. Humans, at all times, are either in a frequency of fear or love, destructive or creative, moving forward or moving backward. When fear is fed with more thoughts of fear, the downward spiral ensues and we retreat into some kind of primal Neanderthal adrenalin-pumping state that is paralyzing or at worst, paranoid.
But what if we decided to turn it around and trust again? Or maybe the question is, where is humanity headed if we don’t trust again?
Trust begins with the self. Trusting ourselves to be able to discern trustworthiness in others gives us a sense of confidence and peace. And even when that trust is broken, though disappointing and often devastating, the self-trusting person does not blame themselves, but knows that the betrayer is the loser.
If you want to be happy, trusting people, the Universe and/or your God to be on your side is essential to your mental health. As Eric Hoffer writes, “Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something.”
How do we trust again? Trust is a value that we can inspire in each other by becoming trustworthy. Trust is faith, respect and often, though not necessarily, love. Trust is the foundation of real relationships. Without relationships, we all separate into ineffectual tiny pieces. In trusting relationships with one another, we are an empowered force for the good of all.
So let’s trust again. Let’s give each other, humanity and our higher power the benefit of the doubt that we are always safe. We can rebuild a level of trust in each other, in the people we work with, the company, the government, our spouses, the family and most importantly ourselves. We can all be so much happier. Trust me!
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