Happy MONDAY Steemverse!
I hope all is well in your part of the world. I don't know about you, but this past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Not the daredevil type just filled with a lot of ups and downs with a few drops that make your tummy funny.
We had an amazing show from nature this week. We had a murmuration of starlings (yes I looked it up) in the area. First time I have seen them here in western Colorado since I moved here in 2007. The only other time I have seen them was in Dallas, TX about 2005. If you have not gotten to see them, take the time to look up a few videos. Wish I weren't on my way to work so I could get some video.
One of the topics running through my mind lately has been respect. While surfing and looking through numerous articles I came across this picture.
Image by Andy Still from Pixabay
My first thought was "I feel like that piece of paper" Crumpled up, torn, tossed around. It spoke to me. Crazy out something does that. Isn't that part of the purpose of art? Make us think or see things through a different light?
When you think about the word respect so much comes to mind. Just like this piece of paper respect has been thrown around, crumpled up, or what have you. It is sad to think that when you look back on respect that it's importance and meaning seem to have shifted from being a virtue to seemingly losing it's existence.
Once upon a time... to back talk to your parents or elders was UNHEARD of. Why? It was a show of disrespect to question what your parents, grand parents and such told you. They have lived, they have seen and their job is to instill values and morals into their children. Their decisions were based off of that principle.
Yet we hear now that "I want my children to feel free to express themselves." That's fine. There is no reason why you cannot teach your children to be expressive, adventurous, analytical and still be respectful. I joke that every parent should instill a healthy amount of fear in their children. What I truly mean is that your children should respect what you say and follow that direction. My kids KNEW beyond a shadow of doubt that if they 'broke a rule' there were consequences. To do something against my word was to show disrespect and that would not be tolerated. Wow I sound like a tyrant, LOL. They were more afraid of disappointing me than breaking a rule. Did they get beat? Nope. Didn't need to. No overly harsh punishments either. Were there times I wanted to beat my head against a wall?? OMG yes. What it always came down to was a lesson and a consequence.
When I see kids that scream at their parents to get their way or the parents going out of their way to 'please' their child. It actually makes me kind of sick. You don't earn respect by catering to whims. You accomplish the complete opposite. They will have no regard for you in the future. We see it time and time again. There are more 'troubled teens' now than there ever has been. Why? Well... when you aren't raised with boundaries, limits and respect you don't learn about self-esteem, goals and achievements. There is not drive to do better to be better, because you haven't been expected to do better or be better.
Everyone deserves a basic respect just for the aspect of being alive. Overall no one is better than you, yet no one is beneath you. This is a basic ideal of how we should live everyday. When we work on respect at a core level it is another one of the wondrous things that give us all a new perspective on life. To understand and accept that there are just a few things we as humans ALL have in common .. we are all alive, we all breath air, we all have blood coursing through our veins. We all have the same basic shell. To have a respect for human life is one of the most important values we as humans can have.
We see what happens when humans stop respecting life. When a human no longer horrible, despicable things happen. From a physical crime, meant to cause harm to another, to enslavement, to genocide. Yes it is a large swing but when you look at the core of each you start to see they have a common thread. There has been a loss of respect .. towards an individual to a race of people. When you look at it so plainly to think that any lie is more valuable than another because of dressing is kind of sickening.
How do we 'fix' this? I honestly don't know if there is a fix. I don't think people will wake up tomorrow and say "Hey I am going to be more respectful to everyone I meet" Ok a few people might, but on the whole not a chance. Why is that? Because they don't see it. Until on realizes there is a problem there is nothing to fix.
We see vandalism all over the world. Why are there those that feel the need to destroy what others have built? It is a lack of respect for the work that was done. Ok jealousy does fall in there too, but that's not our topic. Yet .. to tear others down to make you feel better shows a lack of self-respect. Learn to feel better by being better.
Respect is of paramount importance to us in so many ways.
- contributes to satisfaction
- lessens stress
- increases engagement
- provides validation
- provides a solid foundation for relationships
If you disrespect anybody
That you run in to
How in the world do you think
Anybody's s'posed to respect you
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Love,
