To Trust-To Be Trusted

To Trust-To Be Trusted

‘To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved’ – George Macdonald

Trust, is the endowment of belief in a person, system, doctrine, promise etc.. Of these, perhaps the most important is the trust that arises out of interpersonal relationships and the give and take between two individuals or groups.

Why do we trust? Trust was born from the group psychology, from pre-civilization ages. In fact it is seen to exist in almost all advanced life forms, especially mammals that live in herds. Trust came out of the need for mutual help in matters of safety and food. The members of a herd depended on one another for hunted food and aversion of dangerous enemies.

In the modern humans, it is first manifest in the newborns trust in its mother initially and in the immediate family later on. As a human develops he has a natural inclination to trust all around him or her. However as life progresses, a person faces breach of trust, he develops mistrust and trust declines.

Who do we trust? When does trust fail? Some trusts are a given, by life and the culture we live in. The trust of a child in its parents, a student in his/her teachers, a spouse in his/her spouse, and a friend in friend. There are trust based on words or promises. These are trust that are often seen to be belied. Not that the natural trust always hold good.

Friendships, marriages, parenthood are tried and tested realms of trust over centuries. However the change of human culture has inflicted severe blows to the trust instilled in these relationships. It is not uncommon today to see betrayed friendships, broken marriages and even untrustworthy parenthood. Trust has taken a body blow even at this base level.

Needless to say, trust at an external level has declined, in such a way that mistrust is the basis of today’s success. The more you trust the more you are likely to be taken for a ride.

To trust or not to trust is turned out to be an exercise in evaluation. It no longer comes from the heart, but from an analysis of many points of consideration.

Today an earlier generation heaves a sigh of disappointment, at the level of deceit and disbelief in the society. In a short time trust may well be consigned to the archives of old literature.