Pathwalking 81
Trust is a multi-faceted concept many of us find difficult at best.
Trust takes on a lot of forms, and can have a lot of meanings. It is not a simple concept or just a word, it is a tenet of human existence.
What does trust mean? Extracting key elements of its meaning from dictionary.com, we know that trust means:
noun
reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence; confident expectation of something; hope.
verb (used without object)
to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something (usually followed by in or to): to trust in another’s honesty, trusting to luck; to have confidence; hope: Things work out if one only trusts.
To sum it up, trust is reliance on something tangible or intangible, holding onto confidence and hope. That is what trust is.
Most often we apply trust to external things. These things include the government, clergy, friends, family, even random strangers. But it is of far greater importance that we learn to trust internally. We need to learn how to trust ourselves.
For some people, I am pretty sure that this is an easy concept to grasp. But for many, like myself, trust does not come readily. External or internal, I am not quick to trust. Trust has to be earned, to be built, to be developed.
As important as it is to trust outsiders, trusting yourself is even more necessary. How many times have you been faced with a situation where your response was I don’t trust myself with that? This can take a lot of forms – something new you have never encountered before, a dangerous situation, a temptation. But this is an internal issue, and trusting yourself is key to choosing for yourself.
Which brings us round to the entire notion of Pathwalking. Part of finding and choosing a path is trusting in yourself when it comes to making that choice. Trust that you choose correctly, trust that you can and will choose wisely. Trust that you have the ability to choose at all.
Trust is embodied in a lot of different ways. It is in many respects a very emotional thing. Most adults have had their trust broken at one time or another. It may have been something small – like learning that Santa or the Tooth Fairy are not real. It may have been more substantial – someone you trusted to take care of something dropped the ball and let you down. It may have felt far more devastating – a lover cheated, a friend betrayed your confidence, etc. All of these will produce an emotional response. And it is, of course, a negative one.
I have stated often that negative emotions are a hindrance to Pathwalking. It is in negativity that we find the greatest inaction, that we cannot make forward progress. It is negative emotions that cause us to give up choice for ourselves to avoid more negative emotions.
Trust works this way too. Trust, once lost, is hard to regain. And as bad as that is when it is an external force that violates your trust, it is far worse when you yourself break your trust. Recovering from your own indiscretion is never an easy task.
How does one break trust with yourself? This takes a lot of forms. That piece of cake you were avoiding because of your diet. That kiss that should not have happened. That little white lie you told to spare someone’s feelings. That action you took against your better judgment that led to a bad place. Ignoring your instinct and landing somewhere undesirable. All of these are examples of breaking trust with yourself. All of these can lead to negative emotions, and thus lead you away from walking the Path you might choose.
Trust is a surprisingly important part of Pathwalking. Specifically trust in yourself.
What do you do to regain lost trust? That is a very good question, and requires further, deeper analysis. I will explore it further in next week’s post.
This is the eighty-first entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Thank you for joining me.
The first year of Pathwalking is available in print and for your Kindle.
Follow me here!
