Why do you respect someone? You respect them because of good qualities such as honesty, wisdom, love and talents. But all these change in time and when they change, you lose respect. You only respect greatness. I have tremendous respect for each and every one of you. Not for your greatness or wisdom or talent, but for the very person you are. I respect everyone totally, so I can never lose respect for anybody, however they may be.
Someone does not need to be great in order to be respected. Respecting life makes you great. Do not look for respect from others, that makes you weak. Have respect for the self and no one can take your self-respect. When others respect you, it is not because you possess some virtues. It is because of their greatness. If you say God is great, it means you are great. God is already great, your saying so does not affect God.
When you respect someone, it only shows your own magnanimity. However many people you do not respect in the world, that much less is your wealth. If you respect everyone in the world, that much more is your value. Wise is the one who respects everyone.
Now, how can you respect a terrorist or a criminal? You should respect a terrorist too because he shows you the way at his own cost. Respectfulness is a quality of refined consciousness. Respect for the self is faith and faith is being open.
Respect everyone as you respect me, but do not expect from everyone what you expect from me. You usually do it the other way. You do not respect everyone as you respect me, but you expect them to give you joy and you expect them to behave ideally.
When they do not live up to your expectations, you get frustrated, and you blame or curse them. By cursing, you lose your spiritual energy. When you can bless, your energy goes up. The world is full of differences, arguments are inevitable. With forbearance, patience and wisdom, skillfully make your way. If you find fools around you, they will make you wiser. The number of fools around you indicates the strength of your centeredness.
Do not try to get rid of them. If you are not centered, you will not have the patience to endure them. When you are totally established, you find that even fools come up with wisdom. They are your own reflection, there is no other. Fools offer you frustration or wisdom and make your life juicy.
How can you stop thinking that others are fools? You don’t have to. You can see all the people in the whole world as fools. The advantage is that you don’t get attached to fools. Otherwise, if you think people are sane, you will want to join them. You can think everybody is a fool and be cool.
Thank those who do not respect you. They have given you freedom. When people respect you, they often take away your freedom. They expect you to smile at them, recognize them, and behave in a certain way with them. If they do not respect you, you are not obliged to answer their questions and you can drop all formalities.
You can naturally smile or frown – you can be complete. When people love and respect you, you are obliged to return their courtesies because you do not want to hurt them. But when they do not respect or love you, they will not be hurt by your expressions. They set you free. When you gain respect, you often do it at the cost of your freedom. Wisdom is to put freedom first and not bother with respect.
True freedom is not an “I don’t care” attitude, it is not stiff. It is an inner lightness with a genuine smile. When someone is stiff and arrogant, they are not free. Love blossoms only in freedom. When there is love, respect simply follows you.
