Today we ask that you trust other people.

We know this is difficult for many of you, because of traumatic experiences you may have had in the past.

And yet it is good to cultivate a position of being trusting with others.

It is not easy, but it is good.

This is because people who are basically trusting, in turn are trustworthy.

You will see that this is true, if you think about it.

People you may consider naive or gullible are usually very honest, and do not hide things.

People who are very paranoid and suspicious are often those who engage in untrustworthy behavior.

Liars tend to be the most paranoid about being lied to.

Thieves tend to be the most paranoid about being robbed.

Haven’t you noticed this?

But people who seem gullible and foolish do not hide anything.  These are the ones you can really trust.

Clever people are always trying to be clever.  They keep things hidden.  You cannot really trust someone who is always trying to be clever.

But the people who are very trusting, even if you consider them foolish — those are the ones you can trust.

So it is good to trust people.

This doesn’t mean you won’t get burned.  That may happen.

But a trusting person is happier, on the whole, because he is trustworthy.

As the Tao Te Ching says: “He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.”

This is very true.

Better to be someone who trusts and gets burned from time to time, than a suspicious person who lives in constant fear and paranoia.

The trusting person is much happier.