Years ago there was a man who did aerial stunts over the Niagara River Gorge. On a high wire above the foaming, swirling waters, he walked from one side to the other.
Crowds gathered and cheered with each of his suspenseful, successful journeys on the tightrope. But only three people ever agreed to be carried over by him. They believed and demonstrated that by risking their lives.
Which brings me to my 2022 “word of the year.” Trust.
The last two years have felt a bit like one of those amusement park rides called “Tilt-A-Whirl.” We paid a price, but did not happily stand in line for the pandemic experience. Our health, our finances, our social interactions shifted, almost daily. Opinions and rules changed often, leaving us dizzy.
We grieved the loss of what we had come to trust.
Trust means to rely on, or have confidence in, someone, something (a bridge, an idea), or some perception (“That newscast sounds reliable.”) Indeed, to trust means to have faith. More on this next week. In the meantime, consider this question:
What or whom do I trust each day?
(For starters, when you walk from one corner to another, you trust that the waiting drivers will obey the stoplight and not run you over!) And you do not even know these people...
