Respect

GOOD MORNING SIR

As I was hiking the trails yesterday, the warm summer breeze was blowing helping me clear my brain. A young, solitary runner passed me. “Good morning, Sir!” he said with conviction.  What did he mean by that?  Sir? Does my gray hair and slower cadence belie my age?  He didn’t say, “Hey Dude,” or “Yo Bro,” or “g’day mate”.  No, he said, “Good morning Sir!”

And then I thought, “Am I afraid of getting old?  Of not fitting in with the younger crowd?” Why does it bother me that someone calls me “sir?”

But, then I decided, “Sir” means respect. As he passed me, he greeted me with respect. And he was not a friend.  He didn’t know me  or know if I was worthy of respect. He was a stranger.  And his greeting was a way of showing me, a stranger, respect.  He didn’t say, “Hey, old man,” he said, “Sir!”

And I began to wonder what our lives would be like if we showed respect to strangers. What if we assumed the strangers we meet are worthy of respect? What if others always greeted us with respect? Would we start living in a way that warranted their respect? I thought , “I need to reflect on my own life and live it as respectfully as I can.  I need to assume that the strangers I meet are worthy of my respect, not my suspicion or fear. Maybe the world would be more respectful if we treated strangers with this kind of regard.”

Toward the end of my hike, the young man lapped me. (obviously faster and younger). I stepped off the trail and let him pass. He said, “Thank you, Sir!”

And I quietly replied, “Thank you. . . Sir.”

SUSTAINING LOVE

“Some love sustains.  Some love smothers and kills.”

I had just had lunch with a friend who had just celebrated 46 years of marriage when I heard the statement, “Some love sustains. Some love smothers and kills.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how people love in a way that sustains marriage for 46 years. What are the ingredients that separate sustaining love from smothering love?

I am sure there are books written on the topic, but a few things randomly strolled across horizon of my mind.  

  • Sustaining love respects the unique gifts of each; smothering love is always trying to reshape the other. 
  • Sustaining love adapts to a growing soul; smothering love can’t allow the other to grow and change.
  • Sustaining love wastes time with the other, playing in the heart; smothering love is all about working it out.
  • Sustaining love follows energy; smothering love demands conformity.
  • Sustaining love gives what it can; smothering love  constantly demands what it needs.
  • Sustaining love forgives offense; smothering love holds onto grudges.

Sustaining love make it possible for each individual to not only be sustained, but to be nourished. You know it exists when each person is flourishing in who they are. They receive something in the relationship that contributes to their having the power to become their best selves and the courage to give those selves to friends, family and world.

I don’t know about my friend’s marriage and what he would say has fed their relationship for 46 years, but I suspect there was a lot of sustaining love going on. Each gives of themselves to the other and allows them space to grow into who they can be.

SACRED SILENCE

Have you ever been speechless? Have you ever been so deeply moved that you no words would form? When we hear of a diagnosis, a death, a loss, and find words are simply inadequate?

It happens to me a lot. I get a call and someone I care about has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. What do you say? I want to be encouraging, but not sure I feel encouraged. I feel awful and find that no words are powerful enough to express my sadness for them or my helplessness in relation to their illness. I sometimes say "That really sucks!!" But, those words are no sooner out of my mouth when I feel foolish. Nothing is strong enough.

So, what do you do? I find that it helps to realize that nothing will be adequate.  The conversation will be awkward because both parties do not have words to express their feelings. It sometimes helps to ask some questions like, "When did they find out? or What kind of treatment are they going to do? or Who else have you shared this with? or What do you think you are going to do." But, we will run out of questions and silence will swallow any other word we might try to utter.

Now, the fact is, most of us will feel awkward and inadequate. There may be long periods of silence.  And silence often scares us.  When no one says anything we fill in the blanks with the anxiety we are feeling.  We project our feelings on to others. Silence has a certain emptiness to it.

But, remember, you are making contact.  You are reaching out. You are trying to speak a language that is unfamiliar to both you and the person you love. Neither of you has been here before. This is a foreign country with a foreign language.

Remember that we can't solve other's problems, but our silence communicates our respect for the depth of life with which another is struggling. And we can accompany another as they seek to work out their fear and their future. And the awareness that another person cares to be silent with us can sometimes be the strength we need to take the next step on an unwanted pilgrimage.

Silence in respect for the depth of another's experience can be a sacred space where some healing can happen.