Respect    --  Week 12

 Everyone wants and needs respect. It is a pre-requisite for human beings to relate to each other in a positive and constructive way. 

Respect acknowledges that we have the same basic needs, whether physical, psychological or spiritual, and that other people’s experience and wisdom can be helpful to us. 

Yet there is another dimension to respect, with even more power to transform. From our earliest years, we learn and grow through admiring and copying other people. In traditional societies this was and is a well-ordered process. Wisdom and life experience are seen as a form of wealth to be passed down the generations. ‘Elder’ does not just mean ‘old.’ 

All around us there are people we can respect and learn from, if we choose to do so, and if we have the necessary humility. Respect is something that we have to give rather than to demand.

Topics for discussion:  (From 16-G PDF)

1.  What is the smallest gesture or expression of respect you can think of? How often do you use it? When are you holding back?

2.  What is it like for you to receive the respect of others?

 .... or whatever is alive in you.  

 Words of Wisdom

“If you look deeply into the
palm of your hand, you
will see your parents and
all generations of your
ancestors. All of them are
alive in this moment. Each
is present in your body. You
are the continuation of each
of these people.”

~  Thich Nhat Hanh  

"The way we relate with others."   (review)

Every time we cherish others we are cherishing ourselves.

Our happiness depends on the happiness of others.

So to strengthen our relationships with the people around us is one of the most direct and effective routes to a happy life.

Whether we like it or not, we cannot get by on our own but it is easy to forget the people behind the scenes who make our existence possible.

Whether it is the farmer who grew the seed for our bread, the engineer who brought the water for our tea, or the van driver who supplied the shop: our connections with others are endless.

Our tendency to overlook or ignore these infinite connections is unrealistic and a major obstacle to happiness.

There is a deep rooted inclination to see ourselves as separate individuals who have worked hard to be ‘self-sufficient’ and ‘independent’.

The result is often isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression.

The happiest people are those who acknowledge their interconnection and who nurture warm and appreciative relationships. 

ref:  Compassion And Wisdom.org

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