Ever notice how respect kind of seems one sided? We see it everyday in the news. We interact with others and while we may not agree with them whether it be their beliefs, their personal lives, we generally are respectful enough not to voice our feelings on the subject matter.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for quite a few people. They feel for whatever reason, they have the right to tell you exactly why you are wrong and how to fix it. You spend your money wrong, let me tell you how it should be done. you don’t worship like me so your practice is wrong. Let me fix that.I know better than you, so instead of telling you how I feel, I’m going to have someone else come in and let you know what I think. I wish this was just from strangers because then you could just pass it off as general asshattery, but often it’s from friends and even family. So you are kind of left with this feeling of wtf do I do now? Do I speak up and cause a rift, do I sit and stew and give myself a headache? There isn’t an easy answer really because dynamics being what they are, someone will invariably end up with hurt feelings, and a major mess will have to be untangled-.
Too bad there isn’t some magical incantation to be uttered that would delegate respect between people. There isn’t. All we can do is try our best. While we can’t control others actions, we can (somewhat with practice) control our reactions.I like to think of it as my personal meditation. I tell myself everyday, that someone will most likely do or say something disrespectful, but I cannot make myself party of whatever agenda they have going. It’s damned difficult. But not impossible. Life is a challenge, but if it weren’t it would be a bore. Just remember to show a little respect for others, they might be having a day we know nothing about.