Drifting in the Space of Ramblings

Ramblings About Respect

Respect is the only thing all human beings seek, without exception. And when I say respect, don't confuse it with fame, success, and money. Respect is far above that, and nothing in the world truly matters more.

Any man can live without love his entire life, but none can live without respect. Of course, we'll never be respected by everyone around us, but we seek harmony as much as possible.

I look at my hand and remember delivering a solid slap across her face. You can call me a coward. I don't know if I care. At the moment, it didn't seem like the right thing to do, but it's what I did. It's what I wanted to do. I gave her a good slap. She was shocked, didn't expect me to be capable, her eyes welled up with tears, and her voice didn't come out of her throat.

"Coward! Coward! Coward!"

The guilt came as quickly as it went away. I didn't give a damn about what I had done. I didn't respect her, but she didn't respect me either. We stayed together for two more years after all that. We learned to respect each other afterward.

She flipped the table in a hysterical fit of jealousy, and I slapped her in a fit of rage; I think we both learned from that. We became more controlled.

Humanity itself no longer respects anything. People litter the streets, run red lights almost running over pedestrians, argue over trivial matters, answer phones during lunches and dinners; respect has been increasingly sidelined. I think that's why people are so empty and depressed in this increasingly "modern" world.

Some people don't even bother to stand up to give a seat to a girl anymore. "Old Fashioned." Respect knows no age. Correct values will always be correct values.

Respect is different from education. We can be polite to someone we have no respect for. But what is respect? It's a mix of education with admiration; it's trying never to hurt or make that person sad.

"Silvana" - I think of her now - "I didn't want to hurt her, and she didn't want to hurt me. I'm sure of that. But we ended up hurting each other anyway."

We respected each other, but it didn't help at all; we lost each other like grains of sand slipping through our fingers.

I never slapped Silvana; I would never have the courage. I respected her. But I hurt her more than anyone else.

"Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!"

Now you're going to die here without being able to make things right with anyone; your oxygen will run out, and there's so much stuck in your throat. I spent too much time without apologizing. I spent too much time apologizing too. I wish I could feel complete now, without regrets, worthy of respect.