How do we honor each other? Or better question, how do we honor ourselves? Are words enough or are our actions more profound?

If I say thank you for being my friend, that is a way of saying I honor your presence in my life. You are important to me. Is that enough? What about our actions, not only directed at that friend, but at the world as a whole?

I have been receiving many messages from the Universe about judgments and how those thoughts of negativity are holding me back from my personal inner peace and from truly being a friend and loving openly and unconditionally. I have found myself making excuses for my behavior. "I only shared that nasty little piece of info with a friend I can trust" or "Sometimes the truth hurts". Innocent enough, right? No, it can't be right. Whether the recipient of the "secret", because it is always "Don't tell anyone I said this", is a trusted confidant or a total stranger, that does not make the intent any less harmful to the subject and the personal gift is very fleeting. I may feel smug and have an attitude of superiority for a moment but what has been accomplished? Absolutely nothing. I have honored no one. Not myself, the receiver of the information nor the target have benefited from the words I have so blithely uttered.

So back to my original question? How do we Honor Each Other? It has to start with the honor we give ourselves. If you are important in my life, than I must be equally important in my life. How I treat myself must be done with as much loving kindness that I offer you. In doing so, I honor you even more.

I had a disagreement recently with someone who means the world to me. I was feeling hurt because she wasn't paying enough attention to me and my own insecurities flared up like a dragon on the loose. In her last post to me she said "always remember I love you". Well of course she does, that was never a question, or was it? Did that dragon speak to me in terms of losing her love?  What we all have to realize is that the past, and all of the monsters we lived with, will always be a part of who we are. If love was withheld, the fear of that repeating will be there, always. What we do with that fear is the solution and that is to honor ourselves, respect who we are and look at the good we do just by being present in the world every day.

So when I say I Honor You, I am really saying I give you the powerful gift of my true self; my love, my trust, friendship and caring because I share those same gifts with myself. Most importantly, I give you my truth.

Live in Peace.