In coaching, I love helping folks begin to taste what it looks like to trust themselves and this life (probably because this has been the deepest longing and work for myself as well). Trust changes everything, and in a world full of so much fear and mistrust, I've found that working with and generating trust is transformative and foundational work. 

In her Rebuilding Trust course, Episcopal priest and modern mystic Cynthia Bourgeault talks about how we don't have to wait until a situation or person becomes trustworthy for us to begin working with trust. She says that trust is a powerful spiritual substance that we can receive and bestow independent of the situation and the outcome, and that it's a kind of "nutrient" for our malnourished world.

Cynthia writes: "To our usual psychological way of looking at things, trust must be earned; it is called forth in response to demonstrated trustworthiness. But there is another way of approaching trust, which has always been the way of the great saints and mystics. From this other angle of approach trust is not earned so much as bestowed—from a fathomless strength and freedom which lies latent in every human soul."

I recently had to make a difficult decision about a situation that was full of mistrust and doubt and confusion. I leaned into this idea that I could still bring trust, and it actually shifted the energy and moved the gridlock in a profound way. 

Trust clears the damp air of confusion and control—internally and externally. 

We don't even have to wait for ourselves to become "trustworthy" to begin the work of trusting ourselves.You can start trusting yourself now—and this act of trusting yourself heals and shifts your sense of self-worth.

If you want to try working with this you can begin by just checking in with yourself about small things—what socks do you want to wear, what do you want for lunch today? And then trust the answer you get and follow it.  Or if you are making a little larger decision, you can ask yourself, how can I bring trust to this situation? 

How does this idea of generating trust land with you?

With gratitude,
Brianna