If You Rebuild It...

   


                       "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

This is an old saying, but it's truth stands the test of time. It speaks to giving the benefit of the doubt when someone has wronged you, and giving them the chance to possibly do it again, in turn, making you look foolish for trusting them. Ahhh, and there's that word...TRUST.

 Here's the thing about trust...it is vital to any and every relationship, but once it is broken, it is VERY difficult to get back. I say "difficult" rather than "impossible", because I like to think of myself as an optimist, and the word impossible is just so final.

Having been on both ends of broken trust in my life, I can honestly tell you that neither end is worse than the other...it all sucks. Repairing a broken trust is an arduous task and unless both parties are willing to do what it takes, it can't be done.

When someone has broken your trust, it causes you to question just about everything that is done or said. It can make you very paranoid and I HATE THAT! When you make the decision to give them the benefit of the doubt, as well as another chance, it would be great if you truly could clean the slate. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. I imagine that it goes back the the "fool me twice..." part of the saying. No one wants to look like an idiot, especially if you're being fooled again and you're the only one that doesn't know it. That's my biggest fear.

When you have had a trust broken, it does make it a bit easier to understand how the other person felt when you were the offending party...a difficult pill to swallow.

The bottom line is this: Trust is a fragile thing. If a bridge you were standing on, suddenly gives way beneath you, even though the engineers have assured you that the rebuilt bridge is stronger than ever, using the highest quality materials and most up-to-date bridge building techniques, from that point on, every time you stand on that bridge, no matter how stable it feels, there is a small part of you that will always be waiting for the bottom to drop out again.

Choose to trust my bridge, but be cautious? Don't mind if I do...