Mutual regard...

I used to use the word respect a lot. You know, in terms of we "should respect one another". But I realize that respect is something that is to be earned and not just expected. So now, I use the term "mutual regard". This is what I mean...

When I was a kid my mother taught me the Golden Rule - treat others as you would want them to treat you. Being raised Catholic, she gave me that lesson with a healthy dose of Christian thinking which, in her world, defined the rule completely. Now I don't really believe all that I learned in 12 years of Catholic school or even what my mother would have be believe but I do believe that stopping to think about how we treat others is a valuable lesson. That's mutual regard...without the Papal influence.

I've come across instances at work where personalities clash and people, though adults, do the most childish things to one another. I've seen grown up purposely do things that they know would hurt or upset someone else just because they are feeling insecure or maybe superior at the moment. That's when I have to get involved. As the supervisor one of my many job responsibilities is to make the work place as tolerable as possible. I believe in fairness but fairness does not always mean equal and that's sometimes a very hard lesson to learn. But the one lesson I always insist on is treating each other with mutual regard. Taking a step back, time to breathe and THINK before reacting to someone isn't easy. It's difficult to teach if a person has never had to take on their own personal moral responsibility. But it is a skill that is teachable over time.

If we all treated each other with mutual regard in our daily lives, this might be a better place overall. Don't you agree?