Being trustworthy

I know a person, let us call her Nirmala, who would be very nice when talking to you. She will listen with rapt attention to all that you say and make sympathetic interjections to goad you reveal more. She would appear very friendly and give the impression that she is trustworthy. You would have poured your heart out to her telling all the things that you would have normally kept to yourself but for her responsive demeanour.Nirmala is however the worst gossip. She would rush to tell others one by one not just what she heard from you but embroider it with half truths and utter lies. You would be shocked when you hear people talking in hushed tones about your personal matters. Once bitten, you would be doubly shy of talking to her. You will avoid her like a plague like so many others whom she befriended earler.But she would go for new quarries. She never realised that she lost many good friends and was detested by all who knew her. Yet she was not able to change herself. She did nothing to earn the trust of the people by discarding this bad habit of gossiping.

The point that I am trying to convey is that each one of us is tempted, not like Nirmala always, but to tell others sometimes what has been told us in confidence. There is a false satisfaction in showing off that we know a little more than what the other person knows. The intention may not be to harm but nevertheless the act of betraying the confidence is bad. By such foolish acts we create an image of us to others with whom we mix that would do us little credit. In turn others would be cautious when they speak to us. It is in us to control the way others respond to us by conducting ourselves." To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved" is a maxim worth remembering.Trust once broken is never set right.Not to be believed by a friend is far greater loss than in losing him.

This does not mean you have to be secretive about everything and decline to part with even innocuous information.Trust means not divulging what has been told you in strict confidence. “A true friend never breaches the trust of his companion or stabs in his back. He is trustworthy and reliable. One should therefore always try to be a true and reliable friend”