A few weeks ago I started a series on seven words that can possibly help us make sense of — and master — the crazy, unpredictable world we live in.

I got two words completed — kindness and compassion. I wrote about the next two, and before I had the chance to send the columns to editors for publication, my laptop experienced an unfortunate run-in with a glass of water and those newly-written columns were gone (at least for the time being, stay tuned on that.)

So much for trying to predict a solution in a world that is unpredictable.

As life often demands, I took a detour. Plan B and maybe even Plan C or Plan D. (You know the drill.)

I’m hoping to recover those columns, but it hasn’t happened yet. So I’ve decided to do the only thing any of us can do when life throws us a curveball; I’ve decided to trust in the future.

For me that means writing something new. I trust the message I’m about to deliver is the one you most need to hear.

And in that I come to one of the seven words (or ideas) I’d originally planned to focus on: trust and/or faith.

I’ve paired trust and faith because they go hand in hand and I’m using them generically. The concept of faith (or trust) is broad. It can be what you make of it. It can involve a higher power, or it can stem from simply and miraculously you. Either works for me as long as it works for the truth inside you.

I’m not here to tell you how to find your faith and trust. I’m here to tell you that you need it, however it comes to you.

And however you discover or find it, faith, when found, lives deep inside you. At the same time, it is a trust in something bigger than you. It is both within and without. It is a trust in the universe. It is a trust in yourself. And who can you trust, if not yourself?

Trust is powerful. It gives us strength like nothing else. Trust battles the biggest enemy we all have: fear. Think about it: if you truly trust, if you truly have faith — in the now and in the future —  fear is lessened. It is annihilated. It has no stronghold. Fear is not compatible with trust. It can no longer control you because the trust within you is so much bigger and stronger and powerful than fear.

Fear is unknowing. It is isolation and discord. Trust is also unknowing, but instead of isolation, it breeds connectedness and a sense of inner peace. There is a vast difference between the two. Trust is the we versus the me. It grounds itself in calmness, equanimity and in knowing all is well no matter what. Trust is still waters in the midst of a tempestuous storm at sea. Trust allows you to believe that everything truly can be all right. Because it will be.

Trust is knowing that the good outweighs the bad. That love conquers hate. Trust assures you that you are not alone in the battle. You are supported. Even on the worst days, trust allows you to put one foot in front of the other and step forward. It allows you to find your path and stay there. 

In a world of unpredictability, trust is predictable. It is unwavering and sure. 

Trust is freedom to be you. No apologies needed. Trust me. Trust yourself. Trust in life. 

— Jill Pertler’s column Slices of Life appears regularly in the Times. She can be reached at slicescolumn@gmail.com.