In God We Trust?
It is December and the Christmas excitement has begun to
blossom. Shops are fully stocked with potential presents, the radio is blasting
festive anthems over the soundwaves, and decorated trees are beginning to
appear. On the television, you can watch
films such as a Christmas Carol, Love Actually and Miracle on 34th Street.
Whilst watching ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ I was struck by a message
that resonates well…. Who trusts who?
During the film, as Santa stands on trial before a judge,
the audience’s attention is drawn to the American banknote where ‘In God we
trust’ is printed. The lawyer goes on to argue that if adults believe in God, a
being that they have neither seen nor heard, why do they not believe in Santa.
It is an interesting theory and one that solidifies the idea that trust is something
that is neither given or earnt, but just appears spontaneously, without
explanation.
But what is trust? A feeling? A reliance? An expectation? A
danger? A vulnerability? A privilege? It is all there, within that feeling of
trusting someone or something. Everyday, we trust our cars. We rely on the
mechanics as we dash at fifty miles per hour down the dual carriageway or glide round sharp bends. Every mealtime, we trust the food we devourer. Have you ever
looked at your plate and wondered exactly where everything is from? What
factory was it made in? What chemicals have been applied to it? Who has it been
handled by? Was it stored correctly? With our money, we trust the banks. Many
of us trust the neighbourhoods we live in to be secure and safe.
Trust exists all around us. From our morning breakfast and
commute to work, to our night’s sleep, we are placing our trust into something.
It’s only when this trust is broken that our minds start to betray us and we
doubt. Maybe the trick is to establish exactly what trust is to you; a
reliance, expectation or vulnerability? Or is it everything? Like glass, maybe once broken, it can’t
be fixed. Perhaps, the message really is that betrayal is only a hinderance of
trust. Once the storm passes, the feeling is still there; it has just changed form from ‘expectation to vulnerability’, or whatever you define it as initially. As we try to keep up with the transition, the doubt creeps in.
Trust does not come
wrapped underneath the Christmas tree or in our monthly wage slip. It just
appears through life’s trials and experiences like Christmas cards do at your
front door. Hopefully, many of us will trust the proposed vaccine to propel us
to freedom in the next year. Hopefully,
many of us will trust our decisions regarding how we celebrate Christmas safely in the current climate.
I trust you’ll have a good next week!
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