Respect Is Essential. In every aspect of life, in every relationship, including the one with yourself.
Most of the problems in the world come down to lack of respect… lack of respect for one another, for all living creatures, for all living plants and trees, for the oceans, for our planet. Once we fully grasp the impact of showing respect, on everything in life, we are on our way to solutions.
Nothing is unsurmountable as long as there is respect.
Nothing bad ever came from showing respect.
Everything seems easier when coming from a place of respect.
Respect goes for people, animals, nature, objects, … everything.
I strongly believe in always showing respect for one another, even if you completely disagree on something, or even when you disagree on many things.
We often only see where we differ but we forget we have so much in common too.
When you find it difficult to feel respect, go look for what you have in common! You’ll be surprised by what you find AND how much easier it is to feel respect when you focus on the common factors.
There was a survey a couple of years back in Scandinavia, where they put 2 groups of really opposed people together. In the beginning they stood each in ‘their’ corner.
Then the researcher began asking questions and according to that answer, they had to form new groups, everyone who answered the same belonged to this same new group. Questions were very common and general like who is a mom, who is married, who likes sports, who likes books, who has children, who has a dog, who is a grandparent… you name it. Knowing you have something in common, creates a bond and where they stood on opposites sides to begin with, slowly they began to ‘see’ the other person as a person, they discovered common interests and they started talking to each other, astonished that they were starting to actually like the other person (where half an hour before they disliked the other one or at least it felt that way). Once you find things you share, you immediately change your opinion about that person. It really can be as simple as that!
Especially in times like today, where the world is divided, where everybody is looking for an ‘enemy’, where we feel the need to blame someone because we feel insecure, because we are scared, because it feels so much easier to vent our fear in the form of anger…. look for things you have in common, for things you both like, appreciate, … Because hating, blaming, … gets you nowhere. All you feel is your blood pressure rising…
My invitation to you all is: start looking at the people you now disrespect and feel you dislike, and see them as fellow human beings and look for things you have in common, start seeing them as people just like yourself and you’ll see it becomes more and more difficult to lash out once you start seeing common interests, common ideas, … that’s the moment you will start showing respect. It makes you kinder, warmer, more understanding, more empathic and being in that state of mind makes you less angry, less fearful, hence you feel happier. Everybody wins.
The same showing of respect goes for everything around you: the more you try to see the world as a place where we all belong, as OUR home, as a place to live, for all: people, plants, animals, … you’ll start feeling respect. Because one respects the home of someone. You don’t go around destroying where people live, where animals live, where plants grow, …so in feeling respect for the home of someone/ something, preserving the habitat of all living creatures will become a natural thing to do. A decision to stop polluting the air, the rivers, the oceans, … becomes as evident as breathing. Because that’s exactly what is it: no pollution is breathing, living, existing, for all! And this goes for all areas in which we need to make changes.
I invite you all to look at every aspect in your life and ask yourself:
“What if I start showing respect?”
“What if I start seeing how everything is connected?”
“What will change when l start feeling gratitude/respect for this beautiful planet that feeds us, that protects us, that invites us all to live here together?”
Once you understand that all is connected, you are thankful and you start changing your behavior in order to help making this planet as healthy as possible. As Dr. Sylvia Earle says: no blue, no green, no us. Polluted oceans mean a polluted planet, a polluted planet means unhealthy conditions for us. So here again, everybody wins by showing respect and acting accordingly.
And as I said in the title, respect also means respecting yourself!
Accept yourself, respect yourself and love yourself.
You are the one person you can never get away from, the one person you get to spend your whole life with. So, you better make this relationship work, no?
Especially in times of uncertainty, of fear, anxiety, … it is important to believe in who you are, in what you’re capable of, in what makes you ‘you’, in all your perfect imperfections, … because that is who you are, and you are great! You are a magnificent human being. You deserve respect too as you are part of this wholeness too, we all (need to) live together and we all need each other to live together. You need others and they need you! You are an important part in this Oneness. The more we all accept and love ourselves, and I do not mean this in an egotistical way, but as in really accepting and loving who we are, the more there is love in the world. The more we all live on that vibrational frequency of love, the more respect, the more kindness, the more acceptance, the more empathy there will be in the world. And that is my sincere wish for all of us on this planet:
love and respect!
Because as I said, when you respect someone: you won’t hurt them, you won’t destroy what they have, you’ll be willing to share….when you respect something: you’ll help to take care of it, to preserve it.
Thank you all for reading and supporting me!
Katrien
www.lifecoachwomen.be
author of “Less is Yes!“
www.medium.com/@katriendegraeve