My dog, Seven, lives in a constant state of trust.
I gave someone a compliment this morning from my heart. He’s a leader in his community and he leads with a combination of openness and confidence. He lets others step in to help and, even more impressively, he makes space for others’ leadership styles. I told him I admired his brand of leadership and that because of it, the people around him had space to create and grow what they love. I was glad when he mostly took this compliment in, although he demurred a bit by saying he was surrounded by people he can trust. I was struck instantly with a question. So, what came first? His willingness to trust these people? Or their inherent trustworthiness?
I have an active practice to Trust What Is, and I have found, as I allow this to work through me, that trusting the world has created around me a trustworthy world. Or perhaps this trustworthy world has simply been revealed through the action of my trusting? Perhaps it is a cocreational relationship. I’m less interested in the theory and more interested in the practice. I stopped locking my car doors when I was no longer able to understand why I was doing it. When I looked without fear at the ragged man walking toward me on a dark icy street this winter, I found out that he had noticed my tentative steps on the ice and had come to offer me his arm. Trusting What Is, has shown me the inherent trustworthiness of What Is.
Some things are easier to trust than others, though I find a certain mindfulness is essential to make space for trusting anything that carries even a slight negative connotation. This morning I was stopped for speeding while on the way to my group meditation practice. A parade of emotions marched right through me as I pulled over and retrieved my license and registration: fear, defensiveness, resignation, embarrassment, and more. I reminded myself to trust this experience, and that meant the officer found an open curious relaxed driver when he looked in my window. He told me I was doing 47mph in a 30mph zone. I gasped, chagrined, at my lack of mindfulness, especially considering where I was heading; speeding on the way to sit for silent meditation is sort of like binging on a half gallon of icecream before starting a juice fast. We ended up talking about the empty winding road we were on and how often he found himself way over the speed limit as well. We talked about how easy it is to get distracted while driving. He seemed to care about me and the other drivers on this road. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a police officer in that light before. He gave me a warning, for which I was grateful and I think if he had given me a ticket, I would have found a way to harvest gratitude there too.
When I am willing and able to trust the people and experiences in my path, I am gifted with a clear reflection of that trust. And the leader who gracefully received my compliment this morning? I know his capacity to trust has helped create a team of trustworthy leaders around him.