Monday, March 5, 2007

Aretha Franklin Has A Point

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

I've been thinking a lot about that word lately. It comes in different shapes and forms. There is the respect for parents and siblings, partners, pets, children, co-workers/bosses, friends, and the human race in general, etc... They are all significant beings in our lives. The concept can be broken down even further yet all tied together at the same time; Respect for feelings, opinions, boundries, and the relationships we have with those beings.

So what happens when it is taken for granted and morphs into lack of respect, apathy, rudeness, lack of manners and consideration for others? You start to question and examine your value and place in those relationships and theirs in yours.. Not a pretty thing to have to do.

I've realized that in order to achieve some sort of peaceful balance in life, you have to ask yourself some tough questions, find the answers within yourself and make decisions that work for you to achieve the best peace of mind and control.

I've struggled with, and made a lot of those types of decisions over the past several months and have been working towards that goal of balance. Learning how to get through the tough parts, knowing how to identify your own issues and separating them from those that are not yours and how they affect you..... is a continuing process.

One of the hardest parts is knowing the right reasons for deciding if a relationship is worth keeping... or is it time to give up and let it ride itself out?

Sometimes - it's hard to tell.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can always do what seems to content so many people and just have a pretend relationship for the public.

Yenta Center said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Yenta Center said...

I needed to edit a bit for clarity) :-)

Those pretend relationships can be very damaging - once the pretense is over and true personalities and agendas are revealed after a while, but only in a private setting. It makes you doubt your own sense of trust and judgement. That is a hurdle that takes a while to get over...... but you do :-)

Anonymous said...

In the words of Ellen DeGeneres:

Holla!