How many people, on most days, feel respected?
I’m guessing the number is relatively small. Which kind of begs the question, is respect something we feel?
Perhaps we feel we need it more than we really do, especially if it’s not actually that readily available.
The desire for respect seems almost innate, but not necessarily natural. That desire seems to be activated most when we feel disrespected.
Further, do we really respect someone who goes around demanding it? We might give public fealty, but privately in such situations, I suspect respect is not something we really have for such people.
Perhaps being respected comes from working with life without particular regard for it. Perhaps it isn't something we command (like it is something deserved), but rather something that is attributed.
Another way to say it may be that respect is not really a goal (even if it is a desire) as much as it is a by-product.
Which leads to a question, what is truly worthy of something like respect? When we say we really respect a person, what are we effectively saying?
We appreciate what someone accomplished. What they stood for (whether they accomplished it or not). Or, who they were in a challenging context. Does is always need to included a kind of success (even if it often does)? What about those who live quiet respect-worthy lives?
What makes you respect someone?
This doesn’t seem to leave a ton of room, then, for respect being something that you feel. It is not something demanded (and, if it is, it’s not respect—it’s compliance).
Respect is something given and, thereby, received…mostly because it is given.
