DEAR EDITOR – There are a lot of spiritual speakers and self-help experts as we know now. I am not trying to be one, but I feel relieved in sharing the little inspirations which springs within me.
As long as it touches one heart and triggers another one’s thinking will give me the satisfaction of writing this. Living is not just about inhaling and exhaling but putting up with all the challenges every moment have to give us.
One of the elements which makes or breaks a relationship is RESPECT. As my father used to say, we give respect and earn respect. Never did I realised how important that little lesson was till I am who I am now.
Respects makes and breaks a relationship I consider. Just like saying “sorry” and saying “no” to certain things, giving respect to another is becoming a tough thing to practice.
Is there a person out there who will not mind if he is not given due respect in a proper place or time? The moment a person feels he or she is not being respected the next reactive response is anger.
Respect is a form of admiration and acceptance. Respect is talking and behaving in an esteemed manner.
The resonance of respect is the strength of a relationship. Look at a child, the moment we attend to their need and accept their requirements they feel worthy and loved. That is a form of respect too. We follow the regulations at library not to talk aloud and at temples not to disturb others; these are all form of respect.
Whatever that derives from within us is a form of art, and that is the reason why I consider respect too is an art of living. It is an essential portion of life and also a fragile thing which we overlook in daily life.
I am sure every one of us been a part of time, where we felt hurt when we were not given the attention and cordiality that we think we deserve.
We want to be heard, we want to be given attention, we want to be accepted and we want to be known for whom we are or what we do.
We have so many wants in a basic relationship itself, and all these are a form of respect. The bottom line is we want to be respected.
So, to be given respect and to be treated well, first we must be prepared to be the giver. We must be willing to give attention and treat others with esteem so we will earn our respect inevitably.
After all it is one of the simplest rules of life, what goes around, comes around.
Avithiyaaloshinee Raja Kogilan
GPPOL, Honiara
