Heart of the Matter

[labug]

Bug,

I had been thinking about starting a thread about this very topic. Came to read and you had already done it.

I have gone back and forth for years about this topic. I know in my M, I didn't give or get respect. I understand that on a very logical and emotional level.

What I have struggled with as of late is, what exactly is respect? How is it defined? What does it look like? How does one show respect so that others feel respected?

Those are answers I don't feel like I have. For whatever reason, it is a concept that my brain can't seem to grasp.

Thoughts?

I believe that everyone who walks this earth deserves respect. What does that look like? I don't judge them (at least I'm working on this. I have been a judge above all else in my past), I don't try to change them or teach them a lesson, I don't ridicule them, I listen with open ears and heart, I keep in mind that everyone has a back story and that what people do is never really about me but more about them and their struggle.

I allow them to "be"

So in becoming a person who respects self, I simply apply all of that to me.

Thoughts?

And now I'm going to answer Val's questions. My answers are very different than I thought they would be.