Trust

Trust is a wonderful attribute, perhaps too often overlooked.  It is also an essential element in society. Every day, each of us willingly give our trust to perfect strangers.  Far more often than not, this trust is fully warranted and rewarded.  This willing giving of trust is thankfully so routine as to become second nature.

We trust

• fellow drivers to obey the rules of the road
• public utilities to provide power and safe drinking water to our homes
• law enforcement to keep us safe
• first responders to be ready to save us should the need arise
• clerks to properly complete transactions at the shops we frequent
• waste management to collect our refuse
• our hard earned dollars to have value
• pilots to safely transport us to our holiday destinations
• mechanics to properly repair our vehicles
• friends to "have our backs"
• loved ones to be there, in thick and thin
• smiles
• genuine laughter    
• cooks at our favorite eateries to provide good, safe meals
• our instincts
• our spouses

Certainly, there are institutions and individuals in whom we do no place our trust.  Some must first earn it, others never will.

But as we willingly give our trust to many, many others, in ways small and large, they too are giving their trust to us.

And that is a comforting realization.