Respect

What is respect?

It is the beating heart of a relationship.

Yet, so there is little respect in this world

People think they are just all high and mighty,

Sitting on a mountain of self-consumption.

Respect is a two way street, but too often people try to force someone to respect them without receiving any respect in return.

People are drifting away from each other faster than ever before

Because our monstrous pride is more important to us than others

What about the soldiers?

They risk their lives so we can live free from the bonds of fear,

Yet people refuse to stand during the pledge.

Millions of people died so we could live in the land of the free.

Not everyone has that freedom and we are blessed to have it,

And people won’t even grant a sliver of respect to the country those people fought and died for.

They would rather play on their phones or talk with their friend for one extra minute.

They have no idea of the unspeakable horrors those men and women went through for freedom.

Really, how hard is it to take one minute out of your day to respect those who fought for your freedom.

What about your parents? 

They raised you and made you who you are today.

They gave you everything you needed and so much more.

I see many parents severely disrespected and yet they keep on,

Providing their children with love and support no matter what.

Really, how hard is it to show your parents you care?

What about your teachers?

I’ve seen many people treat teachers like trash.

They are severely disrespected.

Yes, some teachers do not teach like Aristotle or Einstein,

But they are making a huge sacrifice to do what they love, to teach.

And often teachers become so discouraged by the way they are treated, the flame of passion is extinguished, along with that respect.

They are not paid much, and I believe, not nearly enough.

They stay up late and grade all of our assignments.

They try so hard to make their class fun and interesting, planting seeds of knowledge and inspiration in the minds of those willing to listen.

People say that teachers are uncaring when they give out extra assignments or practice,

But they really just want us to learn.

They teach with such a strong passion to share their love of knowledge with their students.

Really, how hard is it to be pleasant to a teacher?

What about yourself?

If you refuse to respect yourself, you refuse to respect others.

We disrespect ourselves so often we hardly notice it.

Every day, people fall into the twisted expectations of the world and fail to become the person they truly are.

Criticism and disrespect become an impenetrable barrier to your potential, leaving you confined to the way the world thinks you should be.

Your life is reality, but it is not reality TV.

Respect for yourself helps create respect for others, which will allow you to break free of the world’s limitations and soar towards success.

Really, how hard is it to be kind to others?

Yes, some people are unkind,

But if you show them kindness and respect despite the way they treat others, you may be surprised.

If you show respect to others, you will be presented with so many opportunities in life.

So I encourage you,

Start showing respect to others.

You may be surprised to see what you receive in return.