One of the factors that are responsible for keeping human beings bonded with each other is trust. It is one of the most unique qualities of human beings and supports them in attaching hope within their social life. Without trust it would be very difficult for human beings to live with each other and further their social existence. Trust is a belief that others are there to support you; they are there to assist you when you are in trouble; they are there to share your sorrows and happiness; they are there to keep your secrets and share their own with you. Trust makes the relations reliable and the friends dependable. The trust deficit would definitely make human beings live solitary lives and make life nothing more than a pile of disbeliefs and skepticisms. As rightly quoted by Stephen Covey, “Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships”.
As per the requirements of human nature, he requires different sorts of need. Along with the physiological and safety needs, the need of love and belongingness play a very imperative role in the lives of the human beings. Throughout his live, he wants to be loved and at the same time love others. He wants to be appreciated for what he does and wants others to take care of his feelings and emotions. If a person’s live lacks this requirement he would find himself in the desert of hatred, with the sun of jealousy and hot winds of disdain blowing his face ferociously.
The fact of human life is that when he is a baby he requires the love and care of his parents to grow with. He requires the company of his joyful friends to nourish within. He needs the attention and companionship of his peers to nurture his personality. He longs for the friendship of trustworthy friend who is ready to give up his personal gains for the sake of amity. He then wishes for a life partner who is ready to spend her whole life with him, going through every thick and thin, loving each other and caring for each other’s sentiments. The life continues and he then desires for children, whom he can love, cuddle and play with and in return expects that his children would grow become loving towards them, respect them and above all trust them. This is how the cycle of the life continues; however, the most important factor throughout all the phases of life is trust. It is like the strong chain that binds all the factors and phases sturdily and never lets a person lose hope keep on living. Barbara Smith had rightly observed, “Trust is to human relationships what faith is to gospel living. It is the beginning place, the foundation upon which more can be built. Where trust is, love can flourish”.
While trusting others and expecting others to trust him, a human being would require trusting himself, as well. It is one of the most crucial beliefs within a human, without having it a person would never be able to find his true self and his characteristics. Believing oneself means knowing that one has the potential to live a successful life and face all the troubles and worries with courage and determination.
One of the greatest examples of self trust can be found in trees. The trees live solitary life, each one responsible for its own self. Each tree trusts its own characteristics and nourishes through every weather with the same trust. It, with the passage of time, spreads its roots within the soil and stand strong and still, while rains pour, winds blow and the troubles grow. It knows that by standing its ground and trusting its roots and ground it would be able to save its existence and secure his life. As Hermann Hesse writes in Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte, “A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live”.
However, in today’s world of ours human beings seem to be losing the precious gifts of trust. They are pursuing the material benefits and living mechanical lives. The socio-economic setup that they have developed for them, make them lonely and distrusting. They are, no more, trustworthy for their fellow beings, as they see every other person as a competitor in the long and tiring race of life; that is being run in pursuit of nothing else except wealth and status.
Such a scenario is really threatening not only for the human beings but for the entire humanity as a whole. It is really necessary that human beings must maintain trust for each other and never let time and circumstances that this precious gift away from them.