What Is Trust and Does It Exist?

Trust means relying on another person based on an agreement that we have mutually established. It is when we place our confidence in someone else, expecting them to uphold their part of the deal, and it is based on the hope that the other person will provide their perspective, assistance, or support when needed.

An ideal state of trust can exist when we realize they we parts of an interconnected system, fully interdependent. This requires discovering the full extent of our interconnection. In such a society, we would feel our unity and work together in a state of mutual consideration, support, and encouragement.

Such trust is nonexistent in our current world. Instead, we live in systems — whether healthcare, finance, or others — that divide society. They are designed to serve individual interests rather than cultivate connection and cooperation.

Today’s older generation might reminisce about times when trust seemed more tangible, when people left their keys under the doormat or even left their doors unlocked. But trust is not about whether our apartment doors are locked or unlocked. It is rather about the inner door that separates us. Today, many people are closed off from others, thinking, “I don’t care what’s happening to anyone else.” That is the real barrier to trust.

Therefore, there is a need to establish genuine trust. This first requires addressing our egoistic human nature. Egoism — the prioritization of our own benefit over others — is the core of human nature. It divides us, yet it also holds the potential for our connection if we learn how to relate to it in a way where we see how it works on us, and how to rise above it.

This transformation requires a long-term educational process throughout society. We need a new kind of education that helps us pay attention to the need for realizing our growing interdependence positively, with mutual responsibility and consideration. Only by correcting our nature can we create a world where trust is genuine, enduring, and exists at the basis of our relationships.