Eavesdropping

My intense curiousity gets the better of me in public situations. I was trying to study at the Starbucks this morning, I really was. But there were so many interesting conversations going on around me...my ears almost grew Legolas-shaped as I attempted to listen in (listening in sounds a lot less harsh than "eavesdropping"). In one particular conversation between an older man and a younger female, a statement he made grabbed my attention. He said, " You can't trust anyone until you figure out what their self-interest is. Everyone is motivated by some kind of self-interest...once you figure it out, you know what they will do and what they won't do, and so you will know how to protect yourself. Then you can trust them." Wow, what a statement that sums up the way that so many people love and live...this is one of those things that seems like the best way to keep yourself safe...but what a limiting, fear-based way to live. I really don't want to love and live like this.