When I look up "trust" on google, I only see financial websites popping up. I thought it might be a good idea to look over some and try to analyze the financial definitions and connect them to the real world (emotionally, not financially like they already are):
Revocable Trusts: A trust that can be changed by a person throughout their life time, whether it be completely altered or revoked entirely.
Real world (emotional) application: Don't our own personal truths change and alter due to our memory and beliefs? Possibly, this financial term could be another way to describe the fact that people consistently change their own beliefs and truths to match their own actions, and possibly that is why the truth is "revocable".
Charitable Trusts: A trust that is attributed to a charity or the public in general.
Real world (emotional) application: Sometimes, we decide to trust people not simply because we know them well, but because we think that they can handle the weight of us depending on them. Charitable trust could be choosing to rely on someone who has let you down before.
Constructive Trusts: A trust that is implied and established by a court.
Real world (emotional) application: An implied trust...could be someone that society has nailed into your brain as someone you should be dependent upon. Like a parent, or a sibling, or a spouse. Isn't that a pretty short list? Isn't that creating an internal struggle for the trustee, if they don't have a trustworthy "constructed" group of people?
Totten Trusts: A trust that is a gift from the trustee to someone else, and can only be received after the trustee's death, or when the person the gift was given to has fulfilled some action that the trustee requested.
Real world (emotional) application: Conditional trust is something we see a lot. Particularly with parents trying to discipline their children. "Do this, and you will receive this from me." Sound familiar? Is this the proper way to go about gaining trust, though? In my experience of being a child trying to receive something, and even today as an 18 year old, no one is intrinsically motivated to gain trust. They may want something else out of the situation or transaction, if you may.
So what are your working definitions of trust?
I think that ultimately, trust should be defined as everything you mentioned and more. I personally believe that there is one single trust: simply trust. In society, trust is such a heavy weighted concept in everyday living, and there really should be no need to have separate trusts. Many people could think they are trustworthy if they only satisfy one of the trusts you have mentioned. However, if there is one solid definition of trust, then people would realize how serious trust really is.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think about the financial definition of trust until you mentioned it! It really makes a lot of sense and it's interesting how words in English can be defined as two things that might not seem connected at all, but in reality, they are. I think that trust is everything that you talked about, it's all about the context. Trust means so many different things to different people and while some people value it above all else, others do not see it as a necessity at all. Also, people can be conceived as trustworthy to some and not to others. I also agree with Elaine, people are able to circumvent the meaning of trust because of all of the definitions that it has and therefore, often are never able to grasp the true meaning.
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