Trust

I started rock climbing because I wanted to trust people more. As a neophyte, I believed that the relationship between climber and belayer had to be one of trust. It is. What I have learned about trust from rock climbing , though, is more fundamental. You have to trust in yourself before you can trust in others.

Without trust in yourself, there is no trust. Without trust in yourself, you have abdicated responsibility. This is especially true in rock climbing. The climber does rely on the belayer to catch falls and identify risks but the first onus is on the climber for the climber's safety. Trusting oneself is more difficult than it sounds. Self-trust relates to confidence and body-mind awareness. Trust is being in the moment, listening to the stillness, and acting accordingly. Because most of us go in and out of the moment, most of us go in and out of trusting ourselves.

And if we can't trust ourselves, every moment of every day, how can we trust others? Especially, when trust is one of the foundation building blocks of any meaningful relationship? The answer that I am pursuing is to act as if trust is present. Assume trust.

Trust will not be there every moment in my relationships with my family and my friends but if I act as if it is, it will be more and more often. This is true in the big important things in life, and it is true in the small things. I continue to explore my ability to trust myself on a daily basis, as I rock climb, as I navigate a hilly curve on my mountain bike, as I lift my heel in toe-stand in yoga, as I am open and honest with friends, as I communicate with family. Trust grows.