Respecting People’s Wishes
When we hear the term respecting people's wishes, I think it is fair to say that it is only used or put into practice or acknowledged when someone is dying. But what about someone who suffers from depression, stress, anxiety, low self-esteem and wants to empower themselves, what does it take for their wishes to be respected.
From experience most people who have a past lived experience, are looking outside themselves for approval from others, crying out to be heard, and crying out for help and to be respected. If we truly listened we could prevent people from taking their own lives, we could prevent people's sanity, and even prevent imprisonment.
In this current age, some people are living a double life and pretending to be something that they are not. It is a difficult time that we are living in because there is a battle with words, thoughts, and emotions of how someone should be, instead of respecting who they are, their wishes, or the choices they have made to empower themselves.
I am learning to respect my own wishes and putting my health first which to others may seem like I may carry an attitude of “I don’t care”. Building a relationship with God has taught me about what God would like for me. Which is to spend more time loving and honouring myself. I have learned that God is a loving and kind God who respects everyone’s wishes not just on certain occasions.
God wants everyone to show kindness and to live in peace and harmony with each other. God doesn’t badger people, put them down, or demand treating people unfairly, because they don’t live up to certain expectations, and have spoken their truth.
We all have past lived experiences, that we may regret or feel guilty about which has had a major effect on who we are today. But the truth is all we truly have is the present moment, the path of the heart, the path of love.
Making the choice to choose love is not easy and takes a tremendous amount of courage and strength to let go of past lived experiences; and live a life that know longer keeps you a slave, that know longer imprisons you but leads you to ever new freedom, ownership, responsibility and peace of mind.
Blessings
Rev Dinah Pemberton
