Respect

Over the years I have had the pleasure to learn many things from many different people and this is the first of a series of mediations that bring some of that knowledge into 7 principles that I try and live by. I may not always succeed, but I have a responsibility to keep working at it.

Transcript

Welcome.

Today we're going to spend a few moments focusing on one of the seven principles that I work towards living by every single day.

To begin,

Find a comfortable seated position.

Keep your back straight but relaxed.

Take a moment to focus just on your breathing.

Inhale and feel that air coming into your body and bringing relaxation with it.

Exhale any tension in your muscles you may have.

Focus on inhaling and exhaling into relaxation while allowing your body to completely relax.

Your jaw,

Your shoulders,

Your neck,

Your hips,

Your legs,

Your arms.

Allow it to simply relax.

Today we're going to look at respect.

What is respect?

Respect is a very strong,

Strong principle to bring into your life.

But what does it mean to you?

What were you taught that respect is?

Is it things like being polite to others,

Saying please and thank you?

Is it using someone's pronouns the way they choose?

Is it respecting somebody because of the position they hold at your office,

At your work,

Or the position you hold at work?

Take a moment to think about what you would define respect as.

Think of it as an action.

How does someone show respect in your mind?

What does that look like?

Take that moment.

Now that you have this idea of what you define respect as,

Just place that to the side for the moment and open your mind to the rest of this meditation.

Respect begins with you.

We need to respect ourselves.

When we have internal dialogue,

We need to make sure that internal dialogue is respectful to us.

We need to respect our spiritual self.

We need to respect our physical self.

We need to respect ourselves when it comes to our relationships.

We need to respect ourselves when it comes to our work.

Respecting ourselves begins to show up in every aspect of your life.

When we don't show ourselves that respect that we may show others,

We are doing a disservice to nobody but our own self.

We are all gifted in unique and amazing ways.

We must respect our unique gifts,

Even if we don't know what they are yet.

Respect begins when we show it to ourselves.

Respect is also respecting other people,

Respecting the jobs that they perform,

Respecting their hobbies or interests that they may have that may be different than ours.

Remember,

We are all unique and we all have our special gifts and talents.

And those are to be cherished and valued.

Don't ever look down on others.

Looking down on others is a sign of disrespect.

Respect people for who they are,

Respect their ideas,

Respect their viewpoints,

Even if you don't agree with them.

Respect is also about not looking down on nature as though you're better than it.

We're not better than the animals,

The birds,

The trees.

We are simply part of a living system.

We are spiritually bound to nature.

We exist in nature.

We are nature.

So to look down on it or treat it poorly,

To litter or to damage things out in nature is to show it disrespect.

Disrespect to the one thing that provides us what we need to sustain life.

Respect is about listening.

Respect is about listening to those that need to speak.

Maybe you have a friend who's having a tough time right now and they just need to talk,

They need to say the words.

Be respectful of them.

Don't try to fix them.

Don't offer advice unless they ask.

Respect them by listening.

Respect is about supporting others without speaking over them.

It's about supporting them in the way that they need.

Respect is understanding,

It's empathy.

When you understand why somebody's upset or why somebody has a different viewpoint than you,

You can show them the respect of that viewpoint.

Respect in some situations is about putting the needs of others before your own.

Respect is showing kindness.

Kindness is not to look down on somebody and give them a dollar as you walk by thinking,

Oh I wish they would get a job.

Respect is seeing that this human being is struggling and that by giving them that dollar you may be helping them to get help that day.

Or you may be easing their pain just a little bit that day because maybe they were able to get a good meal.

You don't know.

So rather than think ill of them or show disrespect to them,

If we don't know then your default should go back to respect.

Respect them for being a human being.

Now bring back what you originally thought of as respect.

Bring back your definition.

Bring it firmly into your mind now.

Has it changed much?

And if it has,

In what ways did it change?

As we go through our days,

Just remember you cannot make others show you respect or be respectful to you.

You can only live by being the example.

Showing respect at every opportunity.

Respect is yours to give freely.

And give it to everyone and everything.

And when others don't show respect,

That's okay.

Don't let that change you.

Don't let that anger you or make you bitter.

And don't let it hurt you on the inside.

Don't give it that space.

Respect yourself enough to know that you are being a good person.

You're being a kind person.

You're showing respect and no matter what anybody else does,

You are always going to live to that standard.

Showing respect then becomes a way to keep yourself in a sense of happiness or calm or peaceful state.

Because when someone else isn't being respectful and you know you are,

It's much easier to remain calm.

You're much less likely to lose your temper,

Get caught up in the moment and say something you should love that is disrespectful.

And if people see you always showing respect in every situation,

You will be the example for others.

And not everybody,

But a lot of people will start to respond in the exact same way.

When we respect ourselves enough to live with respect for others,

It changes how they respond to you.

It helps build trust.

Now take a moment and visualize what showing respect in a normal day for you would mean.

Can you show respect to your roommate or partner or children before you head off to work?

How can you show respect during your drive to work,

During the commute,

On the train,

In your car?

What are times where you can purposely be respectful to others at work?

Maybe there's that one coworker who you don't get along with.

Take those opportunities to purposely show them respect.

Not for them,

Not to make them do anything,

Or not to change them,

But to change you.

And to change how it feels when you walk away from the interactions with them.

Think about what it means to show respect on social media.

You may have different points of view,

But rather than argue or fight or call names,

Maybe we show respect to the other person.

No matter what they say.

Because what they say is a reflection of them.

And how you respond is a reflection of you.

How can we show respect to our friends,

Our families?

We all have family members that maybe we don't get along with.

What does the next interaction look like for you if you make sure and go out of your way to be respectful?

And keep in mind,

They may not like it,

They may not respond well to it,

But you know when you walk away that you were respectful.

Take a moment to just visualize this new sense of what respect means.

Now as we finish today's meditation,

Keep respect in your heart,

And in your mind,

And in your spirit.

And walk forth in your days showing respect as often as you can.

Now bring your focus back to the present moment slowly and gently.

When you are ready,

Gently open your eyes feeling refreshed.

Ready to live out our days with respect.

Thank you for joining me today in this meditation.

Reviews

Thank you for this BEAUTIFUL meditation on RESPECT and how it helps to transform, not only those who give respect. but also those who receive it❣️ Becoming a person of CHARACTER requires a “measure” of Respect toward our fellow “travelers” and all the abundance that God has created for us.🙏🏻

Stunning, I didn't see that respect is such a meaningful and present topic, an aspect of everything. Thank you ♡