How To Accord Respect: The First Key to Being Respected or Honored

Before I go to the main point, I'll like to share about a writing and publishing space I discovered of recent.

MEDIUM. Its basically a platform where anyone can write and share their ideas and articles. If you like writing but do not really want to have or start a blog, medium is a good place to be. Or if you already have your own space where you write, it's still a good place to be as you can reach a different audience and it allows you to republish stuff already posted on your blog.

One of the articles in my Medium Daily Digest today was titled, Write to Express not Impress by Jeff Crume. That article is partly what pushed me to finally write this post.

I felt disrespected some weeks back when I greeted two lovely human beings that I considered as acquaintances and got no response from them. Surely they saw and heard me or so I thought.

I didn't even feel like a tree in the following moments, which would have been better (trees are living things), I felt like I was breeze. You know, a puff of air, puff - no one really sees it or feels it, it's just there.

That made me wonder a lot, I thought to myself, "to greet or not to greet, how do you honor or respect others so you yourself are also honored and respected"

My Conclusion

This is the conclusion I have come to; Don't seek to be respected or honored. Don't seek to be important or to influence others. That is not your primary goal of living. That is not the main point.

"Don't seek to be respected or to be honored. That is not your primary goal of living"

Why Not?

When you become too conscious of whether you're being respected or not, It could become a trap for you. Your drive and motive for doing things and being who you are becomes hinged on being respected by others. In everything you do, you are now thinking of how it could paint you to be a better and respectable person. This pattern of thinking and living will end up eating away at who you should really be.

So What is the Main Point? 

Just seek to be a better version of yourself everyday. Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world" It doesn't say Seek to be the light of the world nor strive to be the light of the world. You are! Know who you are and be you! Be yourself. Let your light shine, cause you are light and It's not dependent on others. Acknowledge and greet people if you know its the right thing to do, and keep doing it not because others respond or not, keep doing it because it is the right thing to do.

Know who you are and be you!

Just let it go, let the opinions of others go, stop seeking to be noticed, stop seeking to be important, stop seeking to be respected, stop looking to be validated by others and just live freely being you.

"Live to express you, not to impress others. Let your light shine"