Monday, October 19, 2009

Teach Respect

Respect Your Elders.
Respect your Parents.
Respect your Partners.
Respect your Children.
Respect your Leaders.
Respect your Self.
Respect your Home.
Respect your Earth.
Respect your Job.
Respect your Life.
Respect your Body.
Respect your Human Family.
Respect All Living Things.

What does respect look like, sound like and feel like?
When you are being respected, you feel important, like you matter.
When you are being respected, people listen.
When you are respected, you are recognized and valued.
When you are respected, you can trust you live in a safe world.

How can we demonstrate we are respectful?
How can we change our speech, our behavior and our thoughts to be respectful?
What can you and I do to teach respect in our world?
What is the way to make a difference?

Seek to give your best at all times.
Bury the worst. Exalt the best.
Recognize what works and give it.
Never quit on maintaining common courtesy.

Honor those who lead, teach, serve, contribute with appreciation and respect.
Actively appreciate and bless every positive interaction and contribution of Good.
Actively forgive all disrespect, negatives and judgments.
Exalt the Good for Goodness sake.


No swearing or belittling. Make a positive and constructive suggestion if you must.
No talking about another. Talk with them privately.
Attend to what is calling for attention with love and gratitude.
Speak kindly to those who seek your help and encouragement.

Treat all beings with the respect you wish to teach and experience.
Practice common courtesies, like “Please” and “Thank you”.
Talk to one person at a time with no interruption to answer the phone.
Excuse yourself from conversations that are unkind or belittling.

Recognize those people who take on extraordinary roles of decision-making and leadership.
Appreciate that others are usually doing the very best they can with what they know.
Be willing to treat yourself, your home, your job, your body and your life with the respect You deserve.
Remember, you are teaching by example.

If you want your world and those around you to be more respectful, be respectful of yourself and them.
Forgive every act of unconscious thought, word and deed. Clean up your own act.
Live as though all life matters, including your mental images, your words and your deeds.
Contribute to those people and places that live respectfully.
Be willing to acknowledge your unconscious choices when you see they are disrespectful. Make amends.
Keep your agreements. Be punctual. Pay your bills. Value what is valuable. Demonstrate gratitude.

Respect comes from us.
We can teach our world.
Be conscious.
Lead by example.

Giving the best I know,
Betty Lue