Respect is not about the other person.  It is not about whether someone “deserves” respect. The deepest respect is offered to life itself, and the greater gift is to respect when it is most difficult to do so.  Respect is about us. Respect is in us. Or not.  We either practice a commitment to respect others, or we allow ourselves to fall into judgment followed by disrespect for others.

Selective respect, or awarding respect to others on an individual basis based on behavior, is not respect at all.  Respecting some people and not others is actually judgment couched in the term “respect”. The will and ability to feel and give respect to others lies within us.  Or not.  Respect is not a favor which must be earned by its recipient, it is a gift which we either give to or withhold from our fellow human beings.

LA

                                                                          Photo LA