One woman describes herself as "five feet, three inches tall and
pleasingly plump." After she had a minor accident, her mother
accompanied her to the emergency room. The triage nurse asked
for her height and weight, and she blurted out,
"Five-foot-eight, 125 pounds."
While the nurse pondered over this information, the woman's
mother leaned over to her. "Sweetheart," she said gently, "this
is not the Internet."
The Internet is becoming known as a place where the truth is notreadily apparent. I've learned from the Internet that I have extremelywealthyacquaintances in Africa that have enormous sums of money theyneed to transfer out of the country. They literally contact me everyday! And if I will only help, they will gladly share a portion oftheir bounty with me and I'll become an instant multi-millionaire.
Others promise me wealth beyond my wildest dreams if only I invest inan up-and-coming business venture. Daily, the Internet reminds me thatgreed can lead to disaster; that not everybody has my best interest inmind and I must be sensibly cautious.
But in most relationships, I would rather trust than shut others out.I would rather be taken advantage of by a few than isolate myself fromeverybody. Perhaps not everybody should be trusted, but I would hateto experiencelife without it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson put it well: "Trust men and they will be true toyou; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great."
Children will more often live up to our high expectations than not.Friends and colleagues will generally show themselves to bedependable. The world we live in is a good world, inhabited by mostlygood people who can still be counted on.
If you feel cynical, don't give up on trust. Others will usually comethrough. If love makes the world go 'round, then trust makes the lovego 'round.
