Trusting in the Process

by James Smith

Allow me to preface this piece by saying that there are times when I am an idiot. In fact, it may well be that those times eclipse my moments of insight or excellence in such a way that I often feel I am standing at the eye of a raging hurricane, looking up at the too-blue sky and wondering why no one else stops to appreciate the small moments of clarity we are given.

   I’m probably an idiot because of trust issues. I never had much reason to trust others and, when I did, it was often with the expectation a general reserves for his or her soldiers – that anything less than astounding success was a betrayal.

   Naturally, that neither flies here nor in life as an overall rule. People are human and imperfect. So is our process. It’s something that evolves with us – that we shape and in turn are shaped by and it gains traction and momentum when we allow it to be what it is.

   That may make little sense until you’ve experienced it, but I’ve learned in time to have faith in others and in humanity (somewhat ironically, people call me an idiot for that, too) and the simple fact that people have chosen to come to this institute, to sacrifice their halcyon summers upon the altar of education impresses me. Because the process, the path we use to overcome and to become our better selves shares the same flaws and potential that we do, I feel it deserves that respect as well.

   In the coming weeks, “Just trust in the process” will become a mantra repeated: let it be a groundwork from which castles are built. Brick by brick, insight by insight, and hand in hand.