I had a thought provoking day at work this week. There was an incredible moment of communication, people shared a lot and I appreciated everyone's openness and honesty. In conversation we talked about where we were coming from, the issues that made us angry and brought us to community work and how we would define those problems and intervene. It made me think about how much we have to understand about ourselves in order to do work with others, especially in community, with youth and working toward social justice.  We need to know and acknowledge why we do things. Come to terms with what experiences and circumstances in our life have affected the way we act and think. How these things impact our interactions with others. We also must be at peace with this place we are coming from, question the choices we make based on who we are, trust that what we do is the right thing in the moment if we are paying attention and aware of our preconceived notions and ideas. And when we don't do what's right, then be willing to admit we have made a mistake, look at why we made that mistake AND apologize. We will not always have the answer and that is also something we need to be at peace with. 

It made me think about trust - that trust was at the base of all of this. It was the basis for the wonderful moment at work, it is at the heart of every amazing moment I have had in community and in my work with young people and it is at the root of working toward social justice. I asked myself "What does trust look like?" and I think that it is looking clearly at where we are, where we come from and how it informs what we do. Once we know these things, we work toward being at peace with them and trust that we will do right because or despite them and that when we don't we will admit it.