trust

Trust is one of the most important things in life, right up there with Love. Even Love, in all its potential, cannot survive without it. It’s hard to gain and easy to lose, and once it’s gone it’s almost impossible to get back, at least in the same fashion. They say a crumpled piece of paper will never quite be smooth again; trust works very much the same way. And it’s one of the most terrifying things to give to someone; the ability to build you up or absolutely destroy you. In trusting someone, much like loving them, we give them the opportunity to make us or break us. It is one of the hardest things to do, one of the biggest risks you will take, and one of the most worthwhile abilities life will give you. Whether it brings pain or happiness, trust always brings change; in trusting, we open ourselves to love, which will either build us up or shatter us so that we can become who we were always meant to be. Trust is no small endeavor, but it is so worth it.

The sad thing is, the person whom can give us the most in life, whom can teach us, mold us, guide us, and ultimately make our dreams a reality we live each day, is the person we trust the least. Ourselves. There is no one on earth that we doubt more frequently, question more vigorously, and ignore more often than the person we spend the most time with and should know the best. The person you see in the mirror each day. We blame others for breaking our trust or not trusting us, yet we do both to ourselves on a daily basis. We can forgive others, but hold such grudges against our own failings that we never even try to smooth out the paper. It stays crumpled, in our minds and in our very souls, and yet we expect great things from ourselves, as if our dreams can become anything more than a figment of our imagination without trusting that we are capable of such things. We ignore the feelings and intuitions and the voices that call out to us, over thinking things into oblivion. We are so afraid to try anything and fail, that we self-sabotage and fail anyways; we are so afraid of flying that we never even spread our wings, calling them useless before we even see if they can take flight. And they can take flight. You know it, deep down. But the “what ifs” and the doubts over talk what you know you can do. And we settle for far less than we are supposed to do here.

Trust is terrifying. But all great things are. The only things that are not scary are the things that you are used to, that don’t do anything for you but keep you stuck, bored, and unhappy. Love is scary. Dreams are scary. The unknown is scary. Trust…Is scary. But all of them are so worth it. You know what else is scary? Mistakes. But that’s called learning. Falling. But that’s really what flying is, a controlled fall that you turn into soaring far beyond your comfort zone. Pain. But that brings great change. Don’t be afraid of fear, my friends. Everything worthwhile is scary. But it becomes less scary the more you trust yourself. You know more than you know, you just don’t listen all the time. Talk to yourself more, sometimes you have to consult an expert on YOU.

Trust can be broken, and like that piece of paper, it won’t ever be the same. But “not being the same” is what life is about. Sometimes things are better when they aren’t the same. Don’t be afraid to forgive. To love again. To trust again. Don’t push people away just because of the past, otherwise you are limiting your future to what you were and not who you are. All worthwhile things in life are NOT perfect; great paintings have scratch marks, imperfections, and pieces of the brush that stayed behind. They are perfectly HUMAN. And that is what makes them valuable. People are valuable, my friends. They will teach you, grow with you, and love you just as much as they hurt you, cause pain, and force you to change. We are all human. And we all need forgiveness. Forgive others, and forgive yourself. We are all fighting battles no one knows about. We are all imperfect. And that’s what makes us so valuable to each other. Maybe we are all a little broken, and maybe that is so we realize that we need each other, to take the pieces out that don’t work, and help us find the pieces that do. Sometimes the ones that hurt us give us far greater gifts than the ones that just accept us as we are. They show us we need to change in order to fly sometimes. Don’t be afraid to trust again, my friends. What’s meant to be will keep crossing your path, but you need to trust yourself enough to see it. But start with yourself. Birds fly not because they have wings. They are mere decorations if they don’t trust what those wings can do. Trust your wings. We all need you to soar.