Trust Must Be Earned...Here's Why

I read a great quote this evening and I'd like to share it with everyone. Hopefully you'll all take the time to remember it and pass it on, especially to the younger generations. It goes like this:

"There's always someone willing to die and take you with them."

I've buried a lot of friends over the years. Some died from diseases like cancer. Some died from AIDS. Some OD'ed. Some were murdered. The one thing that they all had in common was that they trusted someone...perhaps more than that person had earned.

While not so much an issue to someone with an illness like cancer, it's definitely a concern regarding HIV/AIDS.  Two people meet, they feel that intense attraction, and common sense flies out the window. Use some protection! Unless you and your partner are tested prior to each sex act, you really don't know what, if any, diseases that person may or may not have. It's sexual Russian Roulette, and just not worth it.

I know a lot of people who party. I did my fair share in my younger days. Ask yourself, how well do you know the person you're getting it from...and how well do they really know what they're giving/selling you? I've known folks who, for wont of a night of partying, died way too young. Maybe you just smoke pot...but don't worry, that can be tainted too. It's not unusual to add chemicals to intensify the high. If you buy coke or meth, chances are it's been stomped on...and you rarely will ever know what with. Pills...unless you're a chemist or pharmacist, chances are you don't know exactly what it is. So why put this stuff in your body IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS OR WHERE IT CAME FROM????

I've run with some bad motherfuckers in my life. That doesn't make me cool. Through some of these associations, I've had guns and knives pulled on me. I've found myself, on a number of occasions, preparing to meet my maker. As a younger man, I thought I knew these people and who they were and what they were/weren't capable of. In retrospect, there were a number of times I was clueless. I'm man enough to admit it and lucky to still be alive. 

I've learned, in my 47 years on this planet, that this much is true: Trust and Respect must be earned. And here's the most important part of this lesson: they're both difficult to earn and rightly so. Just because someone tells you that you can trust them, or that they respect you, doesn't make it so. I've learned another big truth: Actions DO speak louder than words.

A person may not be who you want them to be. They may not be who you think they are. They may not be what you suspect them to be. If you aren't 100% sure, then you don't really know. Remember, that person may be willing to die and may be just as willing to take you with them.

Be smart enough to live to be stupid another day.