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When used as a noun, it connotes reliance or confident expectation, as when you say: "I enTRUST you with my life."
When used in the context of relationships, it connotes not mere reliability but steadfastness. "I trust you," not only means "I know you will keep my secrets," but rather, "I know I can share my secrets in confidence."
The conjunctive phrase in fact, when broken down becomes, "I trust that you will be there when I need you," and "I trust that whatever I tell you remains between the two of us."
The use then, of the word trust, requires a considerable amount of nicety. It was, and is, meant to be used sparingly. We think when we say we trust someone, we gain an ally. In fact, we lose one, and the most important one at that.
"Trust," I say, is a tricky word.
When we say "I trust you," it not only connotes reliance or confidence. With trust comes a veritable amount of vulnerability in that you are thrust in the position of an expectant. When we trust someone, it means that what we trust that person with is something beyond our personal capability. Hence, we trust people with secrets because those secrets have the tendency to overwhelm us.
When we do share secrets, or in most cases, ourselves, with someone we think we "trust," we let go of inhibitions and thus expose ourselves to whomever we trust. This is the vulnerability of trust. We become reliant that once inhibitions are shed and we are exposed, someone will swoop in and cover us or shelter us.
When no one does, it is then that we realize that "trust" is but a word.
I'll say it again and never tire of it. "Trust" is a tricky word.
When A tells B he trusts B, and B is able to fulfill the expectations of A even in small degrees, B becomes seemingly heroic. To return the favor, wouldn't A want to be trusted too? So A goes out of his way to be trusted, if only to realize that B needs no saving, or B needs no hero.
A then is left in a ditch. Like a needy beggar who dreams of a world where there are no beggars, but cannot help but stretch out his arms and ask for alms.
posted by The Lonely Joker who stares too deeply & too much at 5:10 PM
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