Trusting life opens doors
Throughout most of my life, trust has been a distant and unattainable thing. Whether it was trust in myself, in others, or in something greater than myself, it remained cold, skeptical, and fragile. It almost goes without saying that trust in other people can be difficult, as we’ve all experienced betrayal, hurt, or abandonment. The wounds grow deep, and regaining trust in the goodness of others—as well as in life itself—can, at times, feel nearly impossible.
I begin to think of dear children, who so beautifully and effortlessly demonstrate true trust in their surroundings, where fear has not yet found a home in their hearts. They express themselves freely, naturally, spontaneously, and without the vanity we so often see around us—in ourselves, in the media, on TV. Children have preserved their childlikeness—not as immaturity, but as innocence, a purity that allows them to be fully at one with who they are, where they are, and what they are.
How is it that the older we become, the more fearful and suspicious we tend to grow? Along the path from childhood to adulthood, we lose that childlike spark and trust in life. It’s as if we begin shutting down and closing off our hearts, and suddenly a wall forms between ourselves and others. We begin, often unconsciously, to protect ourselves and push others away without even realizing it.
In my own life, I am practicing staying open and trusting in whatever life brings—believing that every situation I find myself in is the exact place I’m meant to be. That whatever appears in my daily life is what I need to see, experience, and be in. There is a gift in every situation, waiting to be opened, and it is then my task to find out how to unwrap that gift.
It’s not always easy—far from it—but this is where trust enters the picture. Because I must surrender to life’s mysterious and gentle way of showing me what I need to embrace, love, and dare to express. And it’s been my experience that my trust and belief in the goodness of life returns to me with even more of life’s generosity and grace.
One could say that trust is the key one must find to unlock the door to the Kingdom of Love that lives within us all and is always present everywhere.
