Lost Faith

I think about all the kids that I have ever taken care of, and one thing shows to be true in all of them. They trust. They believe with an innocence about them that the people in their lives are not going to hurt them. They do not fear or build up walls to separate their hearts from receiving the blows that will come to scar.

No, they actually do the exact opposite. They trust, whole-heartedly, without waiver. They follow blindly the ones that love them.
I wonder, at what point do we begin to lose faith in others? At what point in time do we fear pain? When do we see new relationships as potential heart breaks instead of new beginnings and adventures? When do we learn how to put brick upon brick to barricade our hearts from ever feeling that deep sting of heart ache? At what point in time do we begin to see the people in our lives as the potential bad guys? 

Over time, little rejections from people we classify as our loved ones can slowly began to scratch at the surface, taking pieces of us with them each time. Being open and vulnerable with others turns into a struggle.
Friendships suffer and a level of fear builds and begins to keep people out.
Is it possible to get that innocent faith again?
I like to think that it is. I like to think that life doesn't have to be full of pain. But, then again, we do live in a world that is tainted and stained by hatred and selfishness, and the list goes on.
The bottom line is we cannot control what other people do or say; we can, however, control what comes out of our mouth and the actions we take.