Musing On (Self-)Respect

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“Due respect” is one of those deceptively self-deluding moral pointers that can trap you in a loop of utter nonsense.
There is nothing more frustrating (to me) than not getting the respect I feel I deserve; . . .

but hang on a moment,

when does one deserve respect, anyway?
Spiritually speaking, it is, of course

a birth-right.

Okay, sadly, beginnings can be rough- that’s life - and not every parent can manage to respect their child unconditionally. It tends to be a case of do as I say and become as I want and then you will earn your respect. I can’t be having any of that. Whoosh! There goes my free will out of the window with that expectation program. Then I’d rather be a maverick and the black sheep and even run the risk of being called crazy (in no small malicious and exiling way).

Perhaps you see it already, now: what we mistake for due respect is actually a need to be shown love so that we might love in return. The rest is (sado-)masochism.

some place somewhere that looks really free (taken from Pixabay)

We must forgive those who disrespect us (and subsequently mistrust us - and call us crazy at the end of it -) with the meekness and humility that dresses love. They know not what they do.

We can simply open up Edward Bach’s “Heal Thyself” to discover their impediments (soul errors) to exuding the ease of love.

Pride (which leads to a lack of faith in your soul and an inappropriate aggrandisation of your tiny personality)

Cruelty (which is a denial of the unity of all - you wouldn’t hurt yourself now, would you?)

Hate (simply the opposite of love, and fundamentally shows up a lack of creative impulse to “make love” - not war)

Self-love (which essentially is keeping your head up your own jacksie)

Ignorance (a refusal to learn from a higher, umbrella Truth. You might as well draw the blinds, switch off the lights and hide under the bed.)

a lack of commitment, which comes in many forms of inconsistency, inconstance, indecision and overall wobbliness.

Greed = hunger for a power that is not yours to wield. You are to leave others free and rule only over that which has been given to you as a proxy appointed by a larger Creative Power and General Good (aka God and his hosts of wisdom).

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Be it on your own head if you fail to recognise these errors of soul, or shrug your shoulders at them. Prepare for your sclerotic diseases, atopical pains, neuroses, (self-)destructive rages, misery, imprisonment, overall deterioration and loss of pleasure, joy, and sense of fulfillment; and above all prepare to suffer alone and with the devil's question upon your tortured lips:

why!? Why is it happening to me?

I'll tell you why for free (okay, maybe one little vote then):

It's (largely) your OWN fault.

Nobody said carrying your own cross (karma) was going to be bags of fun. You can try to make it a bit of fun though. Monty Python tried (in A Life of Brian).

Seriously, though, we all know that so much depends on your own attitude to life. More often than not it is the core determiner of your well-being. But remembering this and sticking to such light-work is not easy.

Furthermore, to be sure, there are forces that go over your head, body and soul.....That's life, and it can really hang you up.

But for the most part, there is always something within your own control, especially where you nurture hope. Keep looking into the future. Keep your dream in mind - or for the practiced meditator: keep up that conversation with the divine.

If hope is life, then a life well lived is one that is constantly rebalancing and tweaking those tendencies to vice.

think, leading to water, not whip
(Another Pixabay beauty)

It won’t be sufficient to get out the cat-o-nine-tails to whip your lazy self into shape. It takes painstaking introspection and much forgiveness of others; this requires honest confrontations with mild intent, aiming to let go of those you cannot assist in the help they need to give themselves; implying simultaneously that you cannot change their harmful behaviour towards you. It is valid to steer clear of such folk. All you can do is hope to starve those hollow ghosts that are doing the talking through such weak and wimpy souls by not wasting your breath on them. Instead, commend the good people to their own guardians (who are certainly more adept at this line of work than you).

Wait, always, till you are asked for very SPECIFIC and practical help. That's been my big lesson over the past half a century, at least.

We pray that they may discover their own selfless goodness: a kindness that inspires, a devotion that admires the miracle we all are, and an enthusiasm that wants only to do a lot of loving. May this include a SELF-respect that knows where to draw the line that disrespecting people may not cross.

May the gods be with you on this one!