Respecting Others and Ourselves As Individuals
Sometimes, we as individuals do not respect others as individuals. So, our topic today is respect of individuality.
The verse that accompanies the photograph in the book starts, “We ask of others to follow our dreams, to be like us. Why?”
Respect of Individuality
Why, indeed. Why do we think that what we are and what we do is what others should be and do? When we expect another to be like us, to follow our dreams, it thwarts the skills and talents of another, sending the message that who they are is not good enough, or simply not good.
Did you experience that at any point in your life? In childhood, in a marriage? I did. I was constantly compared to my sisters, who were academic. I was artistic, so in the comparison, I failed miserably.
It has taken my lifetime to revert the belief that I was not a good person. Even still, I struggle with feelings of not being good enough.
So, what’s the solution? How can we look at another and celebrate their differences as individuals? We can do just that. We can take special note of another’s individuality and respect it, celebrate it.
We can encourage another’s individuality, urging them to greatness in the areas in which they excel and are interested.
At the same time that we are respecting others as individuals, we can respect our own individuality. Oh, yes, for we – you – are each a unique individual, worthy of celebration and respect.
Take the time to think about all the things about yourself that make you an individual, all your special talents and gifts. Then, consider that these are the gifts you are intended to bring to the world.
Be willing to humbly share these gifts with everyone around you. When you do, you will begin to feel at peace with yourself and the world; it will bring you a feeling of completeness, wholeness.
It is my hope that you will begin to see others as individuals, allowing them outside of any box in which you have placed them. And I hope that you begin to celebrate your uniqueness, allowing the world to see who you are as an individual.
Tags: humbly, humility, individual, individuality, individuals, peace, peace of mind, willing, Willingness