Family Vs Strangers

"Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof" - Richard Bach.

These days fear of strangers is very high among most people, especially in the virtual world...and they claim that it is legitimately so...Well, I am not too sure which is better - protecting oneself or protecting one's belief in mankind and human spirit...Agreed, there are people out there who are ever willing to exploit your naivety...But does naivety have to go hand in hand with trust? Does being not naive mean you don't trust strangers anymore? I, for one have always had pen friends, strangers from lands as far as Russia to as near as next door...I have made my mistakes believing in stories which sometimes were untrue...I have reached out to people who did not deserve it...But, that has never prevented me from opening the doors of my mind and my house to a perfect stranger...

To a large extent, the credit goes to the kind of upbringing I've had..I was never prevented from being friends with anyone right from childhood...Sometimes when people try to warn me that "XYZ could be a bad influence on you", my standard retort used to be "Well, I can be a good influence on them" ... The only advice I've had with regard to strangers from my parents have been "Trust your own instincts and don't let your feelings blind your instincts" and that is one solid advice that has stood me in good stead...I have managed to have the faith in myself to risk trusting unknown people...and managed to make mistakes that were not grave enough to kill my spirits..afterall, "if it doesn't kill you it will only make you stronger!"

I believe every stranger deserves a chance - a chance to be trusted and loved and helped, no matter what your other bitter experiences have been...I am glad even in these times my belief in human beings is still intact...