The C.A.T. Principle – Global Ebook Awards GOLD & SILVER Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014 & 2016

Self-Respect and the Empty Soul (Part I)

Self-Respect and the Empty Soul

Illustration by © Agsandrew | Dreamstime.com

Self-Respect and the Empty Soul (Part I)

Childhood memories have a way of mesmerizing events into our psyche. We’re young; the world is new, and we’re mold-able. It’s as if a sculptor etches his creation into our minds. We may not recognize the meaning or breadth of chiseled marks upon our innocent souls, but as time passes and the loop of memories plays back, we think.

One memory dates back to that time when we take a step into the world beyond the street curb. Like Christopher Columbus setting sail for the New World, we embark upon a journey without knowing what and who awaits our arrival. It’s a time awash with new and unfamiliar faces in a strange and faraway place (just a block away) that makes the security of anyone’s childhood backyard impregnable by comparison. Welcome to the ‘New World’ of kindergarten!

It was during those days of sleep breaks, story reading and toy playing that one particular episode of grand proportions indelibly left its mark. I’ll never forget the moment when my kindergarten teacher dragged me across the floor and scolded me for not allowing others to play with the wooden-toy trains. Oh, the humiliation! Oh, the disgrace! I then realized how Charlie Brown felt when Lucy pulled the football out from underneath him! Blockhead!

That memory stuck as many similar memories of your own may have stuck, but I’m glad it stuck. Not glad for the humiliation and disgrace, but glad for the lesson it taught – a lesson of respect for others.

Respect for others, a recurring theme throughout our formative years, whether taught to us at home or at schools and institutions (hopefully not penal), is a wonderful thing. It’s the arbiter of how our lives mesh with others as we journey through time. But if one critique is a permitted while glancing back on those impressionable years, then it would have to be this: we could all use a little more talk about self-respect.

Like charity, respect starts at home, and home in this case is us.  To truly respect others, we must respect ourselves. Yet many of us pretend away this nugget of wisdom as if yesterday’s news.

Self-respect is the ability to appreciate oneself, while admitting we’re fallible creatures. It’s not false pride, but the opposite. Misplaced pride is deep-seated insecurity; self-respect is self-recognition while taking responsibility for one’s actions – good or bad. It’s doesn’t complain; it doesn’t play victim, and is always ready to accept the consequences of one’s deeds. It’s what in by-gone times was referred to as character (see Fortitude and the Wherewithal to Carry On…).

We can always recognize a person of self-respect. They’re unflappable, stolid and purposeful in demeanor; they radiate empathy and warmth for the human condition. A distinguishing feature from those other souls we label “empty,” and the topic of Part II of this blog…

For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here. Now revised and expanded, and a Nominee for the Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of the 2016 Global Ebook Awards.

Sign up above and receive this blog once every two weeks to your inbox. Comments and thoughts welcome.

The C.A.T. Principle

A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.

A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.

Ebook Awards

A 2015 & 2016 Global Ebook Awards Nominee for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook

One thought on “Self-Respect and the Empty Soul (Part I)

  1. Pingback: Are You Happily Miserable? - The C.A.T. Principle - The Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Non-Fiction Self-Help Ebook of 2014

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: