to review means to look over,
but to respect means to listen to.
or is that just my definition of respect?
since i show my respect with my ears
and follow-up questions indicate
i really heard and care to understand
what the other person said.
care to understand...
respect...
maybe that's it - i care enough
about the person
to work at understanding the context
through which they move through life
but to simplify their context, i say
"i respect you."
maybe also it's a macho way to say
"i care" without saying that really.
i suppose
i could respect a person i don't care for.
that would be hard,
but it's even harder to care for a person i don't respect
and
impossible to care for someone who doesn't respect me.
as for disrespectful treatment:
maybe my voice is not worth hearing,
maybe my ideas do not have any merit,
maybe my appearance is not pleasing,
maybe my persona is non grata,
maybe i earned your disrespect,
but if i did, show me the humanity of telling me why,
before treating me with disrespect.
and if i disrespect you, one of us
maybe me, maybe you,
failed in our mutual humanity
and now i choose to act in a way
that says we are no longer human.
that is as bad as it gets for me -
it eats at my soul to show
intentional disrespect,
to choose to refuse,
to lose the ears that get me through with you
and to be through with you by losing my ears.
foundation feeling -
respect provides sharing path
between equal souls