Trust Sandwich + "Benefit of the Doubt"

While it is virtually impossible to disregard the possibility of betrayal regardless of our relationship and closeness to others, we really do not have much space to go around when it comes to Trusting other people. We should not ask for our chosen friends to earn our Trust because being friends also mean that we should trust them. If someone wants to be friends with us, it is within our decision whether to Trust him/her and if we do not want to trust the individual, then we should decline their friendship. It would seem practical for us to ask for proofs of one's Trustworthiness, but in reality, whether we test them or not, there is always the same unknown percentage chance that would engulf the relationship. A person who cuts his right hand would seem pretty sincere, but in the end he could kill with his sinistra or left hand nonetheless (taken from Stratagems).

Of friends, Trust is given and not asked.

To avoid unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings, we should always look at the brighter side when it comes to the fault of our friends to avoid the corruption of a friendship. This is known as giving the benefit of the doubt. This practically means that we allow our friends to benefit from the situation that is still uncertain or with facts missing. If your wallet gets lost in your room with your friends sleeping over, there is a doubt that looms due to the uncertainty of the status of your wallet. Give your friends the benefit of the doubt by looking at the good side--meaning that you will presume that it is simply misplaced and not stolen. This is the same case with Justice where we presume that a suspect is innocent until provel guilty. I rest my case.

The Love Sandwich + "Choice"

Most people are familiar with the basic tenets of Love through the Bible. This, unfortunately, is not enough. What is being described there is the "ideal" sense of the word. Do not go around looking for Love as it is being portrayed in the Bible because this, being ideal, is unachievable by us humans.

Although this may be a little hard for romantics, I say that Love is not a feeling but a choice.

Love is commitment.

It is true that Love is a feeling, but that only holds true in the early stage of Loving. I think that Love as feeling is like turning the ignition key to an automobile. You need it to be motivated to be in a relationship, while Love as a choice is the gas which keeps the engine burning. It is better to hear "I do not want to live without you" than "I could not live without you" because not being able to live because of a person only proves that you stay in a relationship because you do not have much choice since you do not want to go through the pain of letting go (which also gives a hint of selfishness). This shows a very emotional and instinctive decision in which we really do not choose consciously. On the other hand, it is truly romantic that each and every single waking day of your life, where you have a choice to leave or stay in a relationship, choose the latter consciously especially when the time of crisis comes.

I am with my girlfriend because each and every single waking day of my life, knowing that I can take my life away any minute and retreat from this world but chooses otherwise, I choose to be with her given that I have the capacity to end the relationship as much as she does in an instant, but chooses to be with her instead.

I am recommitting myself to the Lord, my family, friends, and Jane, my dearest.