Respect and Trust

Respect and trust are the two pillars on which all relationships stand on.  You don't have to understand, nor empathize, just learn to accept. As a parent it is so easy for me to project my unfulfilled desires and ambitions on my children and equally hard to recognize that they are not an extension of my ambition or my desires. I can guide them in recognizing their strengths and flaws, advice them on how the world works, but in the end, it is their journey. My job is to just make them strong enough and provide the safety net,giving them the confidence  to trapeze through the uncertainties of life.

Respect is not just admiration or just words, it is giving space, it is about accepting that they are different from us and valuing the difference. Respecting is accepting their life decisions even though you might fail to understand or empathize with it. Respecting someone is valuing their existence and  treating them with dignity.  There are many ways to put a person down other than just words, but when you respect your relation or the person, you go out of the way to ensure they revel in their existence. Unlike love, respect you have to gain - gain by giving. I know many people, I might dislike, but respect you have to earn. Earn by giving. For me love without respect is meaningless.

Trust is the glue binding the relation. It is a fragile gift that one person gives to others with the hope that it will be savoured forever.  When ever somebody breaks your trust, they are slowly but surely eroding their credibility . And what would you be without credibility - just an empty lie. Trust goes both ways - it is like you throw the ball in air, and  you need someone to catch it, or it rolls away maybe forever. Everyone's moral compass differs - the concept of loyalty varies from individual to individual. The more someone trusts you, the more you are responsible for handling it with care. Yet life teaches you that trust and loyalty are not as common as it should be.   If you are genuine,  you expect the other person to be true too. Life is too short to play games, to pretend and breed suspicions.Trust is a precious gift - respect it and treasure it.