Trust Versus Worry
Examining the concepts of Trust vs Worry, Concern or Anxiety
Trust is the confidence that personal desires or beliefs will align with reality.
Trust is a belief in the reliability / truth of our expectations vs reality. In general, having trust calms the body and leads to better health.
Worry/Anxiety/Concern is a lack of confidence that personal desires or beliefs will align with reality.
In general worry can lead to negative consequences in the body, though it can trigger adrenaline or thought responses beneficial to safety and long term benefits.
There is such thing as beneficial trust, misplaced trust, beneficial worry, and misplaced worry. Generally, trust is misplaced when we choose to believe something contrary to reality... just having hope is not enough in most cases to manifest reality into our personal desires or needs. Worry is misplaced when we are concerned with something that has extreme low probability or is completely beyond our ability to control.
The Hierarchy of Needs for Life
In a separate article, we discuss the Consciocentric Hierarchy of Needs for humans and life in general. This is loosely based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It's an important breakdown to consider to analyze different areas of our lives in which me may choose to have Trust and/or Worry about. In general, most of the Earth's population has a pretty strong trust in the bottom two tiers of the Hierarchy of Needs... we have trust that the core physics and processes of chemistry and biology that our bodies are constructed from will continue to work, and that we have our basic survival needs taken care of -- though in some areas of the world such as war zones and impoverished societies, the access to food and water may not be something that citizens have a strong trust in. The higher level aspects of the hierarchy all have levels of trust or worry that may be associated.
Physics, Chemistry and Human Biology Trust: I have a trust that the laws of physics are mostly stable, and that the strong nuclear force, electromagnetism and gravity will not suddenly de-cohere. I have trust that the molecular combinations of chemistry and biology will continue, and my body will continue to operate - breaking down external sources of energy and matter to repair an rebuild millions of new cells every day.
If the sun were scheduled to spontaneously collapse into a black hole tomorrow and create a singularity that swallows the matter of our solar system, then this trust might be misplaced, but since its so low probability and there's nothing I would be able to do about it anyways, its not worth worrying about.
Air and Livable Environment Trust: I have a trust that my environment will be livable for my human form, with an oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere to breath, a temperature and radiation level that is conducive to my life, and a level of gravity which is comfortable for my skeletal and muscle system.
This is a trust that is based on a document history of human life on this planet, and consistent conditions during my life. If there is a meteor headed to the earth that will collide in 100 days and scorch the atmosphere, that trust would be broken/misplaced (ie: just because I don't know or believe that the meteor strike is imminent.) Though, on a human society level, this is worth having some worry about, since we now possess technologies that could potentially mitigate an extinction level meteor event through usage of rockets. Alternatively, its worthwhile to have at least a small level of worry about nuclear war on a societal/governmental level. Our awareness of the danger changes how our country/leaders interact, making it less likely to proceed down this path which could make the earth unlivable for humans.
Food and Water Trust: I have trust that I won't starve in the next month. This trust is based on the fact I live in a fairly stable country (USA), and I have money to afford food, and even if I didn't have money, we have a sort of social safety net in our country that keeps people from straight dying from starvation.
If I have no money to purchase food, and live in a country without a social safety net, then my trust would be misplaced. In this case the sense of worry is actually beneficial, as it leads to taking action to secure a food source for the coming month... do something that produces money/trade/value, or directly find food to harvest and survive.
Shelter Trust: I have trust that if it snows tonight, myself and my family will remain comfortable and warm. This is a trust based on the material possession of shelter with a roof and heaters, and paid utility bills.
If I have no land or house, or haven't paid my utility bills then my level of trust would be somewhat misplaced. I might have to rely on our limited social safety net to survive the night. If a criminal broke into my house house and tried to steal my property/shelter, I have some trust that our collective rules of consciousness (laws of our country) would protect me and that police to remove the intruder and give me back my warm/comfortable house.
Health Trust: I have trust that if I come down with some terrible sickness tomorrow or break my leg that I will at least have a good chance to receiving decent care and recover.
This is a trust based on the fact that I have healthcare coverage, and doctors I know I can schedule a visit with. I have a urgent care center nearby which most likely will admit me and doctors who will tend to me. My healthcare coverage has significant material costs associated. Even without coverage, we do have a very limited social safety net for healthcare, but money ultimately leads to having more trust that my health will continue to be maintained.
Entertainment, Experiences and Access to Tools Trust: I have trust that beyond my vital basic needs and shelter, that I will have access to a variety of options for entertainment, experiences, and purchase of tools to allow my creative impulses and ideas to flow. This is a trust that is highly aligned with access to money... there certainly are experiences that can be had for free based on friends, community and social network, but if I want to go on a vacation to Europe or Africa, I will need money to buy a plane ticket and need to arrange for food and shelter. Also, if I want to paint a giant oil painting, I will have to purchase a large canvas and a bunch of oil paint.
Without access to the benefits of monetary trade, I may find some limited access to these entertainment or experience options, or the tools/materials I want, but most likely just having trust will be misplaced and lead to disappointment when I'm not on a plane for a vacation, or don't have the tools I need for creative expression.
Personal Relationship Trust: I have trust that my significant other will continue to collaborate with me to build our relationship and shared goals. This is a trust based on communication, love, a history of shared goals, and future plans.
This type of trust is mostly non-material, although it could be questioned whether if I lose my job or choose to stop providing for the family whether my significant other would continue to have the same level of aligned pathway with me. ie: even relationships generally have some element of material / monetary / shared responsibility of environment control.
Community Trust: I have trust that the greater community of people in our local area will not harm myself or my family. I have trust that my kids are safe at their schools, and when having play dates with other parents in the community. This is a trust that is built based on a history of going to school myself in this country, and many generations of history, as well as them having been in school now for several years, and knowing many of the staff members and teachers.
I occasionally will have a bit of worry crop up when I consider how many school shootings have occurred in the USA in the past couple decades... though I'm mostly free of that worry, it does occasionally crop up, and I think has both positive and negative consequences... from a negative perspective, its probably not too good for my short term health to worry about it, since its such a low probability event. But having a bit of worry about it leads me to want to vote for gun safety and mental health care issues, and be generally cognizant if my daughters tell me about kids who act violently or talk about guns... there was a kid who got suspended a couple years back for talking about bringing a gun.
If I hang out in downtown LA or SF at night, I have much less trust for my well being and safety in my community... my sense of trust diminishes and worry increases. If I'm walking down a dark street / alley at night, my worry/anxiety may be misplaced, but it may also be beneficial... an increased level of adrenaline may improve my senses and reaction times, and lead to me thinking of potential fight of flight responses before such an occurrence might arise.
Monetary Value Trust: The system of money traces back thousands of years to ~3000bc. Initially humans just relied on trades when exchanging services or items for another persons service or items. With the creation of the construct/idea of money (tablets, coins, dollars), this became a key trust construct that has allowed for the advancement of civilization, and allowed for specialization of professions and experts in certain fields to arise, providing specific services/goods to those in need, and having a way to convert that into a trade for food, shelter or whatever else is needed. Due to 5000 years of usage of the construct of money, I have a high level of trust that the general concept will continue... though collapse of a country / economy / civic stability can cause localized brownouts/blackouts of local currency.