Thursday Thoughts – September 18

If we are to critique and reverse inappropriate trust and suspicion in our lives, we’re going to have to nail both dimensions at the same time. That might look something like this. She says, “I don’t trust my self-assessments (suspicion), but I do recognize when I’m abused (trust). I trust my parents when they tell me I’m worthless (trust), and don’t trust myself that I’m not (suspicion).” This is an example of inappropriate trust and suspicion. On one hand, she already is in some sense trusting and should continue to trust her self-assessments. After all, her assessment that she has been abused is trustworthy – that was a grievous actually. Her suspicion of herself, in this case, is unwarranted. On the other hand, she trusts her parents where she should rather be suspicious, and again is suspicious of herself where she should be trusting. True, this is an intricate dynamic, but perhaps what seems trivial is actually explosive. Putting two nails down at the same time makes it much more difficult for us to “lie” to ourselves and get away with it. And that’s appropriate and therefore worth trusting.