Happy Monday!
We had a great weekend celebrating the day Marco and I met, seven years ago today. Marco started as our family dog, and throughout the years spent an enormous amount of time with me, and one day he decided to adopt me as his human. And, man- I’m so grateful he did. He’s smart, mischievous, compassionate, independent, and mush, all wrapped in the most beautiful speckled fur you ever did see. I’m asked daily what type of dog he is, and the truest answer is “his own breed” because Marco beats to his own drum of idiosyncrasies.
Did I spend the last four days celebrating Marco? Yes, yes I did. Am I grateful that no one even questions the decorations and just came with a positive attitude? Yes. Infinite amounts, yes.
That’s the thing about life, no? Why not just celebrate and be extra?
In celebrating Marco, I started to think about the word “trust” and how it is a factor in every aspect of life.
Marco, like so many of us, had trust issues. Sure, he always recognized me, but when he adopted me, a new life opened up for both of us. Every day, I pushed him outside of his comfort zone, challenging him to not be scared of the loud noises, to know that he is safe in any circumstance and that he could rely on me as the person with his leash. In addition, I had to learn when to push him and when to relinquish control- as a hunting dog, there are moments that are just not built for him, and it takes understanding his body language to respect that. There is a give and take to our relationship, and there were countless times when I’ve looked him in the eyes and said “please, just trust me. I would never do anything to hurt or endanger you.”
It took the Three C’s of Trust - consistency, competence, and caring - to get Marco to where he is today. A dog who can be off leash with incredible recall, a dog who can be around babies and kids without hesitation, a dog who comes to work with me four times a week and isn’t a disturbance, and a dog who loves so beautifully.
What if we all looked at the word and action of trust the same way Marco does?
Rather than jumping right in, we ease into the action, allowing the process to prove itself before releasing all control. What if, like Marco, we trusted ourselves more and made others prove it?
If “trust” is “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Shouldn’t we distribute the word with more caution? What if “trust” is not an infinite feeling but rather a finite resource; would we treat it differently?
We are so invested in using the word “trust” every day, that we miss the importance and worth of the definition. We “trust” the process. We “trust” manifestation. We “trust” brands and people, but we continuously forget to trust ourselves.
The truth of the matter is, in order to live our life to the fullest, we need to allow people to prove themselves through consistency, competence, and caring. If we continuously give our trust to those who do not deserve it, we miss out on the comfort and safety of those that do. We are so conditioned to believe people at face value, that it takes a lot of unlearning to begin to trust ourselves again. It is arguably one of the hardest things to metabolize, trust me ;), but I know it’s worth it.
JOURNAL PROMPT OF THE WEEK:
I would like to trust myself more when it comes to_____________________
OOF, this one is hard to even for me, and I’m asking it, haha. I spent most of my twenties trusting so easily, and then the last three years being a feral cat, spooked by everyone, that I forgot what the middle ground of trust looks like.
But, we are nothing but transparent and authentic here so, I’ll go first:
“ I would like to trust myself more when it comes to….. people.”
As an empathetic Pisces, I am constantly seeing the flip side of situations, specifically with people. It’s honestly… annoying. There is this piece of me that wishes I could write off people with the flippancy of my Leo friends, but alas, this bleeding heart struggles. Unfortunately, what that does is create a boundary-less playing field in which I drain my cup for others, creating a vicious cycle of “me” beating up “me” for falling for “it”, again. What I have been consciously teaching myself these last few months is that:
“yes, people are amalgams of good and bad”,
“yes, you can see both sides of someone clearly”,
“ Just because they have good, doesn’t mean that they’re good for you.”
The last one is like untangling a Grindylow, but we’re getting there by constantly screaming “Lumos” at it.
Alright, now it’s your turn. Grab those journals and start pushing yourselves, friends.
As always, thank you for being here. Stay tuned for Thursday’s post where I share MY FINALLY PERFECTED COOKIE RECIPE. And, yes- even though I spent yesterday daydreaming about being the next Christina Tossi but with this cookie, my heart wants to stay here- writing and encouraging you to dig deeper.
Also on Thursday, the universal pings gave me a great idea for my Etsy shop and I should have that all ironed out by then ;) I might have even bought a new domain…. eep :)