Safety & Trust
Trust is an important component of safety. Where safety is an expectation to be free from harm, trust is an expectation of reliability and integrity from others. In many ways, trust needs to be present in order for safety to be truly felt. Because trust, backed up by action, enables the stability that safety needs to exist.
Trust, like safety, isn’t necessarily just there- it’s something that is built over time through a history of examples. In this way, it goes along with the old adage that actions can speak louder than words. Someone’s actions can show you their trustworthiness. And someone’s actions can also show you why they may not be so worthy of trust.
Trust is a choice you get to make, including a lot of smaller choices like;
who you trust
what and how much you trust them with
when you trust them with something
You do not owe anyone trust, or instant trust. If you’re unsure, that’s a signal in itself worth paying attention to and investigating further. It’s also ok to wait to trust, or test the levels by choosing to trust someone with smaller things before larger or more meaningful ones, to see how they respond.
Further Resources:
Brené Brown & Charles Feltman on Trust (podcast)
Illuminating Insights’ From Darkness to Daylight Safety workshop (next date March 2026)