[ennie]

I used to see people at face value and trust so easily. Now I take my time. It is a way of protecting myself against toxic human relationships.

It's not so much that I now start out not trusting, but that I start out neutral.

[NightNotes]

I don't have a black and white perspective, where either I completely trust someone or not trust them at all. I find that many people are trustworthy in some ways and not others.

Many of us are not trustworthy in every way, and I include myself in this statement. The parts of myself that I know can be counted on, is what I offer to my friends and loved ones. And generally, I'm honest about the aspects of myself that I know are vulnerable to inconsistencies in thoughts, feelings and behavior. The exception would be people whom I know would use this information against me. Overall though, what you see or what I tell you about myself is what you get from me.

Being honest about your strengths and vulnerabilities is the most important aspect of trust for me. If I can trust that you are being real with me and not pretending to be someone you are not, then anything else can be worked through.

[rebeka]

For me, the question is not 'how easily do I trust?'
it is 'what is trust?'