A different take on respect

[Guest guest]

Greetings Friends,

 

Shree Maa "respect your actions". speaks to my heart in this way .

 

To thine own self be true.............

 

I try to keep it simple...

 

Peace be with you,

Melissa

SW Ontario

 

 

, nierika@a... wrote:

>

>

> Parvati posted:

>

> Shree Maa often says, "Respect your actions."

>

> What does this mean to you? What do you think she means by

> this?

>

>

>

> Dear Parvati,

>

> This is a really important, and to me, a bit scary, statement. To

me, first

> it means I need to be aware of my actions right now. So I have to be

conscious

> about what I am doing ... chopping wood, carrying water ... And when I

> consider that, I realize how often I am acting without awareness,

without

> consideration, and hence, without respect.

>

> I believe that first I would make a sankalpa to be aware of my actions

> without judgement. That is one kind of respect.

>

> Then in my greater awareness of my actions, I must also become aware

of why

> I am acting. Where are my actions coming from?; are they truly

actions or are

> they reactions? This is another kind of respect.

>

> Then if I am willing to truly respect myself (a really big one,

since many

> of us, and I am one of the biggest), it means I believe I am

deserving of

> respect.

>

> If I am deserving of respect, then I will naturally behave

respectfully

> toward others as well as behaving respectfully in something I am doing

> (respectful to the process and to myself). This is another way of

respecting my actions.

>

> So in a way Shree Maa by making this statement has set up a chain

where one

> looks from the present, how I am acting now, into the past to see

the reasons

> for my action, my beliefs about myself, etc. But then the chain is

actually a

> circle because looking back at what is behind my actions, I then

want to be

> more aware of what I am doing and why and behave respectfully at every

> opportunity in each present moment.

>

> This makes my head hurt just thinking about it, so I feel it is very

> important. Thank you for bringing it up and asking our thoughts. Jai

Maa ~ Linda

>