Self-respect

When Christ is in us love overflows; we experience rapture, elation, ecstasy, union of our Soul with God, and then our self-respect is intact. We refuse to hear that God is in us, because of the responsibility associated with this simple and powerful truth.

For us, mere common mortals, self-respect is a skill that is acquired and improved in time. We should investigate ourselves to find out whether we live in such a way that is satisfying to us and is expressing ourselves, whether we are happy. Because, when we love ourselves, we also love everything around us. If we possess a feeling of self-respect, this results in an absence of needs. In this absence of needs, everything we need comes to us. Self-respect is the foundation of a stable character. It is a deserved love towards oneself. The easiest way to acquire self-respect is by complying with the Ten Commandments.

We attain to self-respect if we are able to:

• participate in life,

• be objective without losing our personality,

• be spontaneously what we are, be sincere with ourselves,

• willing to understand interpersonal relationships and to enjoy them.

• Furthermore, we should be able to risk living our lives aware of the fact that we need not understand them completely,

• we should not allow to be led by dogmas and false moral norms,

• we should allow others the right to choose,

• we should have a desire to move towards our Higher Being - towards our Essence,

• we should be courageous to manifest ourselves, etc.

Interpersonal relations provide ample opportunities for a positive or negative effect with respect to the development of self-respect. Our self-respect is easily ruined as a result of:

• callous denial,

• needless threats,

• hurting, domineering over other beings,

• or forcing ourselves or others.

For example, if we are constantly exposed to criticism, we begin to condemn ourselves and others; or, when we are treated with hostility, we begin to hurt ourselves and others; also, if we have learned to experience shame, we shall make ourselves and others feel guilty. The indifference of our fellow man wll take us to loneliness, whereas if we are experiencing constant complaining, no longer will we be able to comprehend the love of others toward us.

Events, by themselves, do not cause stress. It is our frozen reaction of fear, our memory of something similar from the past, that makes the events displeasing. Only by getting to know our fears and by opening ourselves toward the self-respect will we start respecting ourselves more and the accumulated bitterness will leave us.

When we are encouraged, we shall be resolute, we shall attain self-respect. When we live with praises and affirmations, we shall learn how to trust. When we are accepted and approved, we shall be satisfied with ourselves. We shall be friends with ourselves, we shall love ourselves and others. When we are loved, we shall not destroy self-respect in others. If we have a good conversational partner from early ages on, if we merely have somebody to talk to, we shall deepen our contemplation an reasoning skills. If the people around us are tolerant, we shall be able to master the skill of patience. When we are loved, we shall learn not to disturb the self-respect in others.

Love is our birthright. The greatest gift we can receive from our parents is the feeling of our own worth, because faith in oneself is the key in the attainment of self-respect.

Bring the laws into my heart, Lord,
Write them into my mind.
There is no freedom without Thy laws.
There is no happiness without Thy Sweet Will.


Based on the book "I Am Who I Am" by Olga Rezo.

What do you think about this? What improves your self-love, dignity, integrity and esteem? What do you do in order to get self respect?

Comments:

royalvicky says:
01-08-2012

thanks

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