The Currency of Trust: Building a New World with Open Eyes and a Brave Heart

Trust is more than a feeling. It is a spiritual currency—a sacred exchange that builds the bridge between souls, communities, and even nations. But in a world riddled with betrayal, deception, and performative leadership, trust has become a rare and precious thing.

In DIANA: Dancing with Dragons, I explore the fire of truth, the discipline of discernment, and the power of love to rebuild what’s been broken. At the heart of all of it is trust—our ability to recognize who’s walking with us, who’s using us, and who’s truly worthy of carrying the flame forward.

Because real trust isn’t built in the spotlight. It’s built in the shadows, in the quiet spaces where someone chooses courage over comfort, truth over illusion, service over self.

Trust Is Earned, Not Demanded

Ego demands loyalty. It thrives on fear, manipulation, and illusion—on smoke and mirrors designed to keep people compliant and asleep. We’ve seen this in cults, in politics, in religious institutions, and even in our own families. Those in power often demand blind trust while offering none in return.

But trust isn’t obedience. It’s not submission. It is the byproduct of consistent, selfless action over time. It’s born when leaders show up—not to control, but to serve.

Servant leadership, as modeled by Jesus, Buddha, and others who carried the flame of divine love, doesn’t scream “trust me.” It whispers, “watch me.” It shows up to wash feet, not climb pedestals. It protects the vulnerable. It confesses failure. It honors the sacred boundary between influence and manipulation.

We’ve also seen what happens when power hides behind curtains and smoke machines. When false prophets with booming voices manipulate the masses with spectacle instead of truth.

Like Oz, they appear larger than life—surrounded by loyal soldiers, flying monkeys, and a judicial fortress designed to silence and punish dissent. But the truth? It’s always simpler than the illusion. The real power isn’t in the throne—it’s in the heart, the courage, the mind, and the soul of the people they tried to control.

The era of blind trust in the “Great and Powerful” is over. We are pulling back the curtain.

Love Languages and the Path Back to Trust

Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages gave us tools to better understand how we give and receive love. For me, “acts of service” will always be the highest form of love—and the deepest foundation of trust. Words fade. Gifts break. But when someone shows up to serve with humility, especially when it’s inconvenient? That’s holy ground.

Trust begins when love shows up in action. And love, in its truest form, is truth in action.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about alignment. Are your words and your walk moving in the same direction? Are you here to be seen—or to serve?

For those of us who’ve been burned by fake love or shallow leadership, this language of love and trust is a lifeline. It helps us rebuild slowly, with grace, one act at a time.

When Trust Is Broken

Let me be clear: trust can be lost. And when it is, there must be reckoning—not just repair.

Some of the deepest wounds I carry came from people who used love as a weapon. Who used religion as a cover. Who gaslit, silenced, abandoned, and betrayed me when I needed them most. But here's the truth I’ve learned:

Healing doesn’t mean trusting everyone again. It means learning to trust yourself first.

Your gut. Your spirit. Your inner fire that knows when something’s off, even if you can’t explain it.

Forgiveness is not permission to be hurt again. And reconciliation is not the same as trust. We must stop confusing kindness with spiritual bypassing. Sometimes the most sacred thing you can do is walk away—with your head high, your heart intact, and your soul still glowing.

Trust and the Middle Way

In DIANA: Dancing with Dragons, I speak of the Middle Way—not as a place of compromise, but of sacred clarity. It is the path that refuses to live in extremes. It is the way of fire and ice, of peace and power. It’s the road walked by the meek who shall inherit the Earth—not because they are weak, but because they are wise.

The Middle Way is how we rebuild trust in our institutions, our families, and ourselves. It asks us to lead with emotional intelligence, not ego. To stay open-hearted, but not naïve. To speak truth with love, and to offer love with boundaries.

The Middle Way is not soft. It is strong. It holds the line when the world is burning and says: I will not be moved by fear. I will not betray what is right for what is easy.

Closing: A Brave New Trust

So ask yourself:
Who do you trust—and why?

Do you trust those who flatter you, or those who tell you the truth?
Do you trust comfort, or do you trust conviction?
Do you trust those who make you feel safe—or those who help you grow?

In this new world we’re birthing, trust will not be bought, manipulated, or demanded. It will be earned through truth. Through service. Through love in action.

And it starts with trusting the voice within—the one that knows you were born to walk with dragons, not run from them.