Worthy of Respect

This month is such a great time of the year.  February is a nice little in-between-seasons time, the space between winter and spring. It’s a great time to do a little personal inventory!  It is a great time to show respect to ourselves and others in our relationships, both personal and professional.  We can use this little in-between time to reflect on what was great about our last season and how things went with our plans.  We can also use this in-between time to invest in our future season and what we want to create with this new chapter.  

I like to use mother nature as a guide sometimes to delve a little deeper into our own cycles in life and notice the nuances and the parallels there.  With this in mind, remember while the ground is yet asleep the seeds that are planted there are doing their preparatory work so they can bloom in the next few months with this new season.  I find that to be a rather hopeful and a positive inspiration. Our own lives can be a little sleepy sometimes and although outward activity doesn’t seem to be apparent, inward work is still vitally important in order for life to bloom. 

One of the greatest values and gifts we can give each other is that of respect. Respect is such a tremendous asset in every avenue of life. It is the value which will allow us to welcome and celebrate new life.  It is the value that allows us to celebrate wisdom and our elderly years. It’s the value that carries us from a possible division or disagreement into a space of cooperation and collaboration.  Respect allows for differences without abuse or harm to others. 

You can never have too much respect.  This value is something that never expires, and it never grows old. No one ever says, “I don’t think I need that much respect.  No, don’t need any more of it!” 

What I do find is that we live in a world that is troubled by this value and unsure of its necessity.  In the headlines we read about violence.  We read about assault. We read about violations of so many kinds on so many levels to our family of humanity. I keep hoping for the day that the headlines are going to bust out with an epidemic of peace and respect and genuine human love. Until that day, the inward work we do is so important, especially on this value. I submit that since we can feel hate, anger, and fear, we are also capable of feeling love, harmony, and respect.  

There is a popular adage that says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Today, I would like to submit a thought and I hope it will be a seed that will be planted in the hearts of anyone who reads this.  Instead of following that rule, I suggest only doing things for others that would be meaningful, that would build love, that would build a bridge of friendship, harmony, and collaboration.  In that space, we will find the ability to create genuine respect for one another in spite of our differences or cultural backgrounds or even our life’s upbringings. This month let us take the time to cultivate our inward selves, to delve a little deeper into our feminine attributes, abilities, and skills with respect for ourselves and others. May the blooms of this new season be brilliant, bright, and vibrant in every way!  Wishing everyone a wonderful month!