Respect

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"Respect"

Don't steal, don't lie, don't be lazy. Let's just respect each other.

So simple, yet so profound!

Is it stealing to take from others what we don't really need? Is it stealing to convince others that they need something they don't need? Or is it just lying?

Is it lying not to know what we really need and so to keep taking more than we really need?

Are we being lazy when we expect others to do our work for us, whether the labor is psychological, spiritual, or physical?

If we stop and really explore what it means not to steal, not to lie, and not to be lazy, we can learn a lot.

We can begin to see that respect is not something that we can will or demand to occur. Respect emerges as we clean up our own lives.

If I don't steal or lie and I am not lazy, I respect myself. As I come to respect myself, I respect others.

---From 'Native Wisdom for White Minds' by Anne Wilson Schaef