I have been thinking about the word “trust” lately.  Being able to trust your family and friends is important.  It is both humbling to be considered trustworthy and a responsibility to be that for another person.

I am fortunate to have people that trust me and those whom I can trust in my life.  For many people this is not so.  And I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be betrayed by someone close to you.  But it happens and causes much pain and heartache.  Sometimes, when trust has been broken, it cannot be repaired.

I have read many stories about the Holocaust and the situations people were put into where lives depended upon the trust of loved ones and friends.  Some people were faced with making decisions that could cost the lives of others, no matter what they did.  Some of them betrayed their neighbors and friends to save themselves.  Others sacrificed themselves to save their families and friends.  No matter what one did in that situation, people suffered and died.

Hopefully this decision will never be asked of me.  But trust is a word that holds much responsibility in many different ways regardless of the circumstances.  It can be the essence of bravery and love of one’s fellow man, woman and child.  Without this framework of love, concern and respect for others, we are like animals in the wilderness competing for food and shelter.

Lack of trust in one’s life must be a horrible existence, for we need each other, whether we like it or not.  But trust begins in each one of us.  It starts with being able to trust oneself.  For if we can’t trust ourselves, how can we even begin to trust others?  Trust is the essence of being reliable, truthful and faithful in any close relationship.  It is the glue that holds our lives together in love and respect for one another.  That’s trust.  I, for one, would never want to live without it.