THE POWER OF TRUST

Mark Nepo, a recognized poet, inspirational writer, and spiritual teacher, defines the word trust as the ability to follow the heart. He considers that in order to develop personal trust we have to restore the ability to follow our heart. According to Nepo, trust is like the sun that is always there, even when we cannot see it, So, it is with trust. Because of our human condition we lose trust in ourselves at different points of our lives. But, just as the sun comes out again, so can trust be restored.

Sometimes we lose trust in people because we judge their intentions. We lose trust in our capabilities when we haven’t practiced a skill for a while, or as we get older. We may  lose trust in life when things don’t go the way we expect or like.  Why do we lose trust? There are myriad reasons.  Here are a couple I would like to highlight:

•  FEAR.  Fear is the opposite of faith. Faith is part of trust, so fear and faith cannot be together. There is a well-known acronym about FEAR:  False Evidence Appearing Real. F.E.A.R. is an illusion created by the mind. It comes from past negative experiences.
• RESISTANCE. We resist to cooperate with the forces of life to let it flow freely and unfold through us. There are two main reasons for us to resist: 1) Lack of acceptance of what we cannot change. 2) Ignoring the guidance of the Divine Spirit that lives inside our heart. Things may look bad now, but God has a plan for us that is better. We need to let go of preconceived ideas, thoughts and beliefs and allow the spirit takes the lead.

Life is a dance made of different rhythms that come and go, but we are always the same person, born to be who we were born to be, and we should dance at the rhythm of the moment. Sometimes it will be joyful and even exhilarating, others maybe sad, painful or peaceful. It is up to us to trust in the process of life, or to resist and suffer. In order to win the battle of our own resistance we can follow the example of nature. Look at the palms when they are going through a storm. Instead of creating resistance to the winds, they use their skills of bending to dance at the rhythm of the wind following its direction with the utmost flexibility not to get broken. What a wonderful lesson about resilience.

While I was thinking about the power of trust to write this article, I realized how many miracles I have been taken for granted throughout my life which should have been enough for me to trust in the supreme power that keeps me breathing day and night. Have you ever thought consciously how your body digest your food without your intervention? Who is supporting your breath while you sleep and who keeps your blood circulating in the right direction? How does your body heal itself when you get a small cut on one of your fingers? Isn’t being alive a miracle in itself? Answering these questions will may help you restore your trust.

A great instrument to get rid of fear and resistance is Mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is about living in the present moment. It is about going inside your heart and exercising total acceptance of your life as it is, not as you would like it to be. Mindfulness helps you with self-compassion which is needed when you struggle to restore your trust. Mindfulness meditation also helps you to get in touch with your intuition to develop more trust in yourself. Mindfulness teaches resilience, flexibility, acceptance, and balance, among many other qualities. I am referring now to those that are necessary in the process of restoring trust.

I would like to share a story sent to me by a dear friend and family member.

“You never know what worse luck your bad luck saved you from”

Cormac McCarthy

In India there are many people who ride bicycles to work. But because the roads are so bad, punctures are very common. Sometimes you will see a puncture repair man, sitting in a makeshift shop under a rusty piece of iron, behind a shingle saying something like “Tires fix here”. If you are the person trying to get to work on your bicycle and your tire gets a flat, you might consider that to be bad luck. But what do you think the puncture repair man prays for every morning? One man’s bad luck is another man’s blessing!

So often we categorize the events in our life as “good” or “bad”, but without knowing everything about everything, we really can’t say what’s good or bad. This remind me of the ancient story of Abe, one version is in John Kehoe’s book, The Practice of Happiness.  Abe lived in a faraway land at the foot of a mountain near a small village. The villagers considered him to be a fool because he spoke in riddles.

One day an injured climber staggered off the mountain to Abe’s house. Abe took him in, made a splint for his leg and got him back on his feet.

When the climber leg had healed, he bid farewell to Abe. One-week later a horse appeared at Abe’s house. On it was a note. It was a gift to Abe from the climber as thanks for tending to his leg. When the villagers heard about the horse they said to Abe. “What wonderful luck and good fortune to be given a horse!”. Who knows if its good luck? Replied Abe, “Maybe it’s bad luck?”  “How can it be bad luck?” they cried in mockery, “You had no horse, now you have one.” They muttered amongst themselves at how foolish Abe was by looking a gift horse in the mouth – Literally! Abe spent all his savings on a new saddle. After spending the afternoon saddling his horse, Abe sat down to rest and his horse bolted the fence and ran away. When the villagers heard, they said to Abe, “What terrible luck to lose your horse and your new saddle!”. Who knows? Replied Abe, “Maybe it’s good luck”? “How can it be good luck?” they cried, “You had a horse and a saddle and now you have nothing?”

Abe just shrugged his shoulders.

Two weeks later, Abe was in his house eating his lunch when he heard neighing of horses. He looked out his window to see his old horse back with two wild horses, so Abe led them into his stable. When the villagers heard about Abe’s horses, they came to see for themselves. “what wonderful luck and good fortune to have three horses!” they said to Abe. “Who knows if it’s good luck? Replied Abe, “Maybe it’s bad luck”? “How can it be bad luck?” they exclaimed, “You had no horse, now you have three!”. They couldn’t believe how foolish Abe was at not being able to recognize his good luck.

One day, when Abe’s son was breaking in one of the wild horses, he was thrown off and broke his leg.

When the villagers heard about his broken leg, they said, “What a bad luck that your son broke his leg!”. “Who knows if it’s bad luck? Replied Abe, “Maybe it’s good luck?” “How can it be good luck?” they cried, “Who will help you with your farm work? “I will manage”, shrugged Abe. Three weeks later, government soldiers appeared and forcibly conscripted all the able-bodied men into the army.

Because Abe’s son had a broken leg, they did not take him.  The story goes on and on…. This story is a magnificent example of total acceptance of whatever life bring to us, and trust in the unknown with steady faith that whatever happens will be for our good. Sometimes we can become very excited by what in our opinion is good for us or depressed by what we consider to be “bad”. Nevertheless, the lesson of this story is the importance of having balance while moving through the ever-changing life.

Don’t miss out our next blog on Friday November 22^nd, about the Power of Acceptance.

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