Take a minute and look to your left, then to your right. Take in all of the different faces of emotion that you see. Breathe in the laughter. Breathe in the forgiving, genuine, loving spirits that surround you. Absorb all the simple moments that are worth so much more in each individual's eyes. Those smiles could mean something deeper than just the spreading of lips from cheek to cheek. Those hugs could be a first, or a last, or quietly whispering, "You have bewitched me body and soul." That laughter could be disguising someone's constant grief felt from the loss of a loved one.
This is real. This is raw. This is life. So what are you going to do about it? How will you make yourself known?
When we stub our toe, we might want to curse out the next person we encounter, because let's be honest, it hurt and it is this person's fault, right? They obviously were the one involved in placing that piece of concrete an inch higher than all the rest for you to trip on. They did not even bother to say sorry. How about when we hear a friend said something behind our back that doesn't make us feel very safe, very happy after we find out? Most of the time our immediate reaction goes straight to hate. No discussion. It is over, moving on, there are better friends anyways. Why not? They turned on you, right? They deserve it anyway.
Maybe not everything we see or hear, is exactly the truth. Could it be our hearts and minds wrapped around our instinctive desire to receive and present respect? Could our first step start with making a point to respect ourselves?
Growing up we were familiar with being told to "make lemonade" when "life gives us lemons". Sometimes, those lemons are not always the yummy, juicy ones and our lemonade, well it doesn't taste so good. Does that mean we give up, pour it out, and go thirsty? No. We just need to add a little extra sugar, that's all.
During our thirst for real, raw experiences in life, we glance right past the one things that could determine who we become as we grow; respect, for ourselves and everyone around us. The word is not said, or used enough in our world, and some could even argue that it has lost it's meaning all together.
When you define respect, what is the first thing you think of? Is it standing up for your own values and beliefs? Or removing your shoes before stepping into someone else's home? Could it be picking up a crushed water bottle you saw thrown in your neighbor's ditch? Maybe it sparks a tune in your head and makes you want to start singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T... which is perfectly alright. No matter what the scenario is, the people we encounter crave respect, almost as much as we do for ourselves.
We do not know the beginning of anybody's life story, so why should we criticize a person for the way he/she reacts to certain challenges? Before you look again to your right, and then your left, let that seven letter word surf across your brain waves. Process it, put your feet in their shoes. Ask yourself what is the possibility that this person needs my care, my compassion and my respect right now?
Then it is your chance to make a step towards to decrease the absence of this diminished, yet essential word.
Well recognized essayist, Joan Didion sums it up in the simplest of forms when she referred to finding a resolution that would "free us from the expectations of others, [to] give us back to ourselves - there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect."
Right on.
