The Thing About Respect

I believe that every human deserves our respect, irrespective of who they are or what they have done. It is a form of a positive attitude. Most of us believe that respect is earned, and for us to respect someone, he/she has to earn it. Well, I think a little differently about that (and maybe you do too).

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I think that respect is neither earned nor demanded, it is for us to give it freely to people around us. Respect isn't just the titles we add to people names, trying to keep rules that have been set out of fear or all the protocols we sometimes observe (because of fear?), I feel it goes way beyond that. In fact, fear has nothing to do with respect.

It is letting yourself see positive things in people, seeing the value in them (because we all are valuable), allowing people to express themselves even if their opinions differ from ours, and not imposing ourselves on them. Respect is all about speaking and acting positively and with kindness, not just to other people but to ourselves as well.

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We often times hear or find ourselves saying "respect is reciprocal", but is it really? Should we wait for people to show respect to us before we respect them?  Or should we stop respecting people because they fail to respect us in the same way we respect them? 

Absolutely no, most times these people don't understand what respect really is or are not used to it but by letting them feel this act of positivity and the sense of value you give to them, they might wanna practice that too. And again you don't feel any better when you act disrespectfully towards someone because you were disrespected by them.

Kids are often left out when the topic of respect comes up, but they also deserve respect, respecting them doesn't make you any smaller, in fact, they will think highly of you and end up loving you more, on the other hand when they are disrespected, they end up growing up with a really low self-esteem, no sense of value and most probably with a disrespectful character. Make them feel valued and loved! Like I said earlier, everyone deserves our respect; The gate-man, the waiter, the chauffeur, the house-help, everyone!

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Most times (if not all the time), the respect we accord to people is more like a reflection of how much we give regard to or respect ourselves. Just like we can't love others without genuinely loving ourselves, I believe we also can't accord respect to people unless we respect ourselves ( we clearly can't give what we don't have).

Admiration is earned, not respect. In as much as respect is not earned, it will be great if we put an effort into maintaining that respect that has been accorded to us.

We should understand that giving respect doesn't mean we are gonna get it back, if you get it back, fine. But if you don't get back, it is still good. Remember that there is no joy or positivity in being disrespectful, feel free to share your love, kindness and positive vibes through respecting other. By learning to respect people, it will not only strengthen the relationship and bond between us but it will also go a long way in making the world a peaceful place and a great place to be.