A friend of mine described, trust as a simple word, “a powerful concept but a difficult code to practice.” She went on to say that she doesn't even trust herself. I responded that it was better not to trust all. I added that it was actually mistrust, if anything, that has changed the World. I pointed out that someone did not trust the theory of flat earth; that is what has got us where we are today.
Now I can also add that there was a time when people knelt and begged for mercy from God / gods when they fell ill, today some minority still do, but others begged to differ (they did not trust this process). And during the enlightenment, in the 18th Century scientific measures of healing diseases were introduced; this has improved lives.
Of course, incurable diseases are still around, and still killing more people but modern health care has improved infant mortality, people are healthier and avoidable deaths have been reduced tremendously.
Perhaps this is not the kind of trust my friend referred to. This begs a question in me: how do we define trust? Are we meant to question or query things or people we trust? Would this not compromise the very essence of trust? This is where I find the whole issue of trust problematic. As my friend rightly put it: "trust is difficult code to practice", it is difficult because it lacks substance; it is an empty world that is only there to initiate obedience among people and their environment.
On my part, I do believe its better to have faith and not trust. Faith brings optimism and it is testable. Therefore, it gives us a room to question about things and people without having to feel the guilt of compromising our trust. Thus, faith can spare us some burdens that trust brings: frustrations and disappointments. These are often the consequences of trust that we put in our friends, partners, family, colleagues, etcetera... it happens when we feel let down.
We must be faithful, if we can, to our ideals, friends, partners, family members and all those around us, but one must never trust any of it; trust will break your heart. All things, just as people, are never always what we think they are. It is wrong to think that we get disappointed because of someone's broken promise; we get disappointed because we trusted.