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Today's
Quotation:
Self-respect
cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased.
It is never for
sale. It cannot be fabricated out of public relations.
It
comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet
places,
when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good,
we have done it;
knowing the beautiful, we have served it;
knowing the truth, we have spoken it.
Whitney
Griswold
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Today's
Meditation:
While
I've always considered myself to be high on self-respect, I
know that the reality of my world is a bit different than I
see it. Self-respect isn't always my strongest suit,
and I often sell myself short when I consider my own
actions, thoughts, and deeds. It's not something that
I do consciously, but the negative thoughts have come
nonetheless. I'm
getting much better at it since I started making decisions
on less of a "what-do-I-get-out-of-it" basis and
more along the lines of Whitney's last, long sentence
above. If I know what needs to be done, if I know
what's right, then there's only one possible action, isn't
there? Such a thing is easy to say, but far more
difficult to act on, and the less we're able to act on such
knowledge, the harder it is to come by self-respect. My
somewhat selfish decisions haven't been the result of greed,
I know, but of fear--fear that I won't get an opportunity to
do something again, fear that I won't have the chance to get
something again, fear that I'll lose the chance to get to
know someone or something or some place. Knowing that,
it's easy enough not to judge myself harshly, but in the
absence of doing the good and serving the beautiful and
speaking the truth, it's still very difficult to build
self-respect. My
first step is to accept myself exactly as I am and as I have
been. My second step is to make decisions based on my
conscience and my morals and my ethics, for these are my
guides in life, and though they may change in perspective as
I grow and learn, they still lead me true for who I am right
here, right now. And once I build my self-respect,
then I can start showing love, compassion, and respect for
others. But not until then. |
