On the Essence of Self Respect

It was an important observation by Mahatma Gandhi (Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi) that “God has no religion”. Moreover it is suggested in Christianity and other religions that God existed before he was created. This non intuitive existential concept leads to the idea that the only accurate answer to the question, “Who created God”, is that God “just is”. This realization leads us around a circular argument starting from “who created the universe” and ending with the Universe “Just is”. That is to say the concept of God is really a deferment to a higher level to explain the existence of the universe. Consequently no matter how many times this deferment is established the end result is always the same answer; “it just is”.

So where does self respect come into these lofty ideas? It arises when people assess themselves against an absolute believe that society is a credible measurement based by religious doctrine and social exclusion. Furthermore an individual suffering low self esteem believes he/she deserves to be lowly because of accepted societal tenets (whether true or false). What is more people will ameliorate their condition by defining themselves as better than someone else by only the color of their skin. Unfortunately like a drug they have to constantly reaffirm their superiority because, like a drug, it is a temporary and a fake support system.

Self respect starts by understanding that your position in society is irrelevant (because society morals are ambiguous and typically fake) and that you have principles that you believe in. These principles include: respecting people, being kind, being charitable and generally making people fell good about themselves. Every time you exert one of these principles it like making a deposit to a savings account. That is, the more you do it the better you feel. At a deeper level the following causes the brain to generate powerful feel good hormones (typically requires meditation): Forgive anyone who has done anything to you and let go the resentment they caused. Then assume absolutely that anything you have done to anyone else is completely forgiven and let go any feelings of guilt or shame. Be completely honest here, no one listening …..

So there it is, respect yourself first and make sure its real. Consequently you will be respected.