Pathwalking 84
So far we have looked at trust on several levels. It began with an analysis of the notion of trust, and how important trusting yourself it. Then I continued with answering the question What do you do to regain lost trust? I explored the absolute importance of forgiveness to this process, and how complex this notion really is. After that, I continued to explore the importance of trust, and how deeply necessary trusting yourself is.
The question I have not really answered is How do I learn to trust myself? As I have been analyzing this idea these past several weeks now, I have discovered that this question is another vital key to choosing for myself, and thus walking my path. Without that trust in myself, how do I trust the choices I make?
How do I learn to trust myself? Wow, this is a difficult question to answer. Trust is reliance on something tangible and/or intangible, holding onto confidence and hope. This is particularly evocative, since I am both tangible and intangible. Reliance is the word I want to focus on here. I need to rely on my heart, rely on my mind, rely on my instinct in order to trust.
Seriously? Yes, this is, I think, where trust is rooted. These are the parts of the self where trust is based. And they are intangibles more than they are tangibles. While I am going to separate these to look more closely at them, please note that I believe that you cannot choose just ONE of them in making choices. You need at least two out of three to get where you want to go.
Trust the heart. I know how things make me feel. I know in my heart that something makes me feel good or bad, happy or sad, etc. I have to feel this, really feel it. For me, as I have mentioned time and again, this is particularly difficult. I need to let the feelings happen, let them flow, so that I can get where I want to go. Trusting my heart has been one of my personal greatest challenges.
Trust the mind. This can be much easier, and the closest of these three notions to a tangible. I know what I know. I can gain knowledge, I can study, I can explore and discover. I can analyze the world around me through my senses and the mind experiences and comprehends them. In my mind I know that this is a good thing and that is a bad thing. I have the necessary knowledge to judge the rightness and wrongness of the choice before me. I know what trust is in the mind.
Trust your instinct. The most intangible of these notions, the hardest to put into words. Call it your gut feeling, your instinct, your extra-sensory perception or what-have-you. There is that sensation that is not feeling nor intellect, and it is instinct. We are far more in tune with instinct as children than we are as adults. As children we are far more instinctual creatures, we learn things and develop intellect and feelings as we age. Nature versus nurture is all about instinct.
I know, I cannot tell you why, that I will come to harm if I do this. I know, don’t ask me how, that this will only bring me pain. These are examples of instinct. And I believe that everyone has such moments. Lots of people prefer to choose intellect and emotion over them, however.
As I said at the start of this, I believe that you cannot choose just ONE of them in making choices. You need at least two out of three to get where you want to go. Majority rule. If the head and the heart agree, or the heart and the gut, or the mind and the gut or whatever combination occurs, you have two out of three of the main players in self trust aligned.
Love is like this. I have been faced with a situation where my heart told me one thing, but the mind and the instinct disagreed. Does it come as any surprise that the relationship failed when this was the situation? Sorry, Mr. Lennon, but love is NOT all you need.
It is very important however to note one thing here. You WILL get this wrong from time to time. Trust will be misplaced, to lesser or greater negative effect. But that is a part of the human condition, and it is important that we forgive, so we can trust again (albeit in some way differently) so that we may continue to learn and grow. We need to trust again to continue to choose paths to walk.
Trust in the self is largely held on the shoulders of these three notions, the mind heart and instinct. I am always working on understanding myself, and trusting myself, and I have been surprised these past several weeks to learn how vital trust really is. But I believe that I can trust myself, and even when I err, I can forgive myself and move on. Understanding the importance of trust in Pathwalking, in all aspects of life really, is opening new doors to me, and I am excited to see where this will take me next.
Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for continuing to join me as I walk this path, and explore this idea in a way I hope you, too, can take advantage of.
A very special thank you to a gentleman named Oliver. He visited the store where I work several weeks ago, seeking an item that literally said ‘trust’. It was during the ensuing conversation that I was inspired to pick up this topic for Pathwalking these past four weeks, and I am deeply grateful for his unknowing assistance.
This is the eighty-fourth 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!
