rambling in the wood...

I’ve been thinking about the word “trust” – how often we use it in discussing relationships and yet how ill-defined it is.   “I trust a rope.” “I trust my bank.”   “I trust my person.” Obviously, the word “trust” in the context of a rope is quite different than the word “trust” when referring to a bank, and both seem worlds different than the word “trust” used when discussing relationships.   Often when we tell someone that we trust them, it is assumed we mean that we trust them to abstain from mal-intent toward us.   But I think there’s a more essential meaning – one actually common to all three examples.   It’s true that if we trust our bank this means that we trust them not to steal our money.   But it also means that we trust them to run the bank in a responsible manner making it unlikely we’ll lose our money to some unintended financial mishap.   On the other hand, a rope isn’t capable of “intentionally” doing anything whatsoever.   But a rope does