In the realm of Writing I think that a person pretty much has to leave themselves open to Critique in order to establish just who will give them the Straight Goods and who is just in it to Blow their own bugle. In my own case I feel that if I`m going to trust someone to,’’ Give it to me Straight’’,I would hope that they might have the Grace to pass a little Un - Flattering Criticism as well. I could be setting myself up on that one but I suppose the whole basis of Trust should be in Truth as well. I would rather have someone tell me it Stinks than have them laying on the Butter for fear of Hurting my feelings. I never got that sort of Patronage at home growing up and I quickly learned not to hand it out either. I think there is more to be said for Real feedback than anything else. It is what helps a Natural Writer to become a Terrific one so , when it comes down to who I will trust,I`ll always base it on the type of individual who is not afraid to tell the Truth about themselves or me. There is a little thing that I have come to rely on called Gut Instinct and although it has been known to fail on the odd occasion, for the most part it works for me. Most of the time I just get a sense of Connection or Kinship without really knowing why. So,if I believe in myself and have established Trust in that ’’Little Inkling’’ which tells me it`s OK , I usually fare reasonably well. One thing I have learned Not to trust is Emotion. Hey,I`m a Virgo and Virgo`s are notorious for getting into ’’Emotional Hot Water’’. It`s a Curse, what can I say? For quite a while in my Youthful days, I was on an Emotional roller coaster, constantly searching for acceptance from some of the Nuttiest screwballs I could find. I went from one Predicament to another just trying to fit in somewhere which drove my Mom absolutely Bonkers while she, sometimes not so gently, tried to get the message to sink in. Between her and my Father, I`m not sure who came the Closest to Strangling me. I think it was a pretty close race. At any rate, to Trust is a matter of Belief and Judgement. I will just have to believe that I can attract People to myself who I can trust because I Judge my own Character and in so doing, I know if I can be Trusted or not. Therein Lies my Secret. I rest my face.