Trust as a Verb and Insecurity as a Good Thing
February 1, 2004 by admin
Building Trust, by Flores and Solomon is a really good book. I rank it with The Wisdom of Insecurity, by Alan Watts as two of the most mind altering books I have read. Watts turned the conventional wisdom of insecurity on it's head, essentially showing that security or fixedness is closer to death and that insecurity or uncertainty is closer to life. When his wisdom sinks in, one comes to appreciate insecurity for what it is–the experience life-giving growth. On can then quit amplifying a certain amount of natural stress, by dropping the judgment that insecurity is bad.
Flores and Solomon turn broken trust and betrayal on their heads, as Watts did with insecurity. They allow one to see that trust and betrayal are sides of the same coin (one meaningless without the possibility of the other) and they also allow one to see that creating and rebuilding trust is the key act in creating a better and shared future. Without such acts of trusting and rebuilding of trust from moments of betrayal, no better future is possible. Trust is not a thing to be shattered. Trusting is a competency for all forward looking people to practice and learn–a verb, not a noun.
Below is a kind of relationship diagram that captures some of the ideas that filled my head as I read the book.
