The Importance Of Mutual Respect

Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you - A quote from the bible if I’m not wrong. Sounds quite easy to do but in the society we are living in today I think it is one of the most difficult to achieve. We all think of ourselves in high esteem as decent individuals, but are we really? We tend to say one thing and do another, ask our children to do the right thing yet right in front of them we do the wrong thing. We’re taught that respect is earned, not demanded, have you earned the respect you are demanding for?
Indeed it is true we hurt the ones closest to us the most. When was the last time you hurt a stranger? I know you either have never, or can’t remember (unless you are Donald Trump). In relationships, we are most vulnerable

Is there a consideration by both parties to the feelings, wishes and rights of each other? I know you are thinking, well you only described the guys bad action…The above actions can be perpetrated by either a male or female. And no, I do not think a relationship like the ones described above has mutual respect. It is a relationship on its death bed. Why you ask…well Mutual respect is the foundation of a strong relationship. A relationship that lacks mutual respect cannot survive. It’s like building a house on sand in an earthquake prone area, or building a house on sand period. Mutual respect is the main ingredient for a relationship as it helps us to treat each other how we would like to be treated. It helps us to define our boundaries and appreciate our partner’s boundaries. It allows us to listen to each other’s opinions without judging because we both appreciate and accept that we are different individuals with different ways of doing things and expressing ourselves. We cannot all be the same; differences are the colours of the world (it would be a very dull world if we were all the same) There would be no rainbow if all we had was black colour or white colour. Think about

We can do this with our words or actions and once we damage mutual respect, we lose trust. Once trust is lost or broken, things take a downhill path from there on, people change and if the problem is not resolved, the relation can easily come to an end. How do people change once trust is lost? You ask.. The frist sign of trouble is when your partner withdraws into a shell of protectiveness, a shell you are not allowed in. Your partner (the victim) withholds their opinions, avoids conversations, prefers to hang out with other people rather than spend time with you etc. this often leads to both (aggressor and victim) developing feelings of bitterness, the healthy connection in the relationship breaks (cheating creeps in, abusive behavior creeps in etc) and sadly the relation