Disrespect

Although it is so dreadfully difficult for us to respect other people, disrespect comes with ease; we don't have to think twice about it. Quite honestly, we are experts at putting people down, telling them how meaningless they are, and how little they are worth. We crush people under our bloated egos everywhere we go.

The more we have, the greater the temptation to disrespect those who have less. When we believe we don't need other people, respecting those we don't need seems unnecessary. Respect is reserved to those who can give us something, be it money, attention, or admiration. The problem, however, is that disrespect creates resentment, and resentment creates bitterness and hate. Although we may think we are not going to feel the effects of our disrespect towards others, it is an illusion that has been dispelled by more than one broken human relationship.

Respect creates respect. When we treat others with respect, we connect with other humans instead of free-floating on out own private islands, expecting to the adored by the occasional visitor.

Respect causes us to treat other humans well, just as we expect them to treat us well. It is a cycle that creates harmony - a vital component in the creation of human happiness. Although we deceive ourselves to think that others should make us happy, our happiness should come from within. When we realize that we are responsible for our own happiness, we realize also that our happiness is connected to the happiness of others. Very few can stand in a room filled with weeping and sorrow, and yet remain happy.

When we see other humans as our equals, respect comes more naturally. We don't have to strain the camel through the eye of the needle in order to be respectful. The impulse to create a hierarchy of worth at every encounter (with the goal of placing ourselves at the top) disappears as we realize that the hierarchy is only in our own minds. It isn't real.

Respect doesn't make us human, but we deserve respect because we are human. The difference may seem slight, but it makes, well, all the difference.