Trust

The other day my three month old son took a picture with the Easter Bunny. I have to admit it was pretty darn cute: my son's expression, the oversized bunny costume and the look of purity on his face, as if the world had never been greater. As I watched the Easter Bunny hold him, I noticed the way my son was looking at him. It was a look of total and complete trust. He didn't cry or fuss and he certaintly didn't need his mom to pick him up. He was inviting this stranger to hold him as long as he wanted because of trust. And in turn, it got my thinking about my own relationship was trust. How it is now, how it was, and how it's changed over the years.

Children are wonderful to watch because they're taking in the world for the first time, and with an open heart. As a teenager and as a women in my early 20's, I was trusting -- to a fault --- I hadn't yet seen what can happen when you trust without caution and what can happen when someone takes advantage of your trust. I experienced a plethora of wild adventures with trust: betrayal, excitment, unpredictability, friends that lied, cheating boyfriends, and being taken advantage of on numerous occassions.

At 31 years of age my relationship with trust has changed quite a bit. I am now cautious, mindfull and hesitant when I meet someone. As much as I want to assume the best, I proceed with caution, and rely on my intuition, a tool I use to guide me on the right path. As a woman and in the times we live in it only makes sense.

As I watch my son look up at the Easter Bunny with all the trust his little heart can hold, it fills up my own life with hope, hope that the world can be a trusting place for us all. Not even so much for me but for my son. I hope that as my son turns into a man he will have that trusting look forever because he'll never have a reason not to.