Does it mean I don't have self-respect?
Pheww..Curious Case of Self respect. From her perspective and based on your description, it seems she has moved on from the time you walked away from the friendship or I should say best friendship which you didn't realized. Self respect is pride and confidence in oneself; a feeling that one is behaving with honor and dignity. There would be a reason why your friends have questioned your self respect. If you are constantly pinging(persuading) her even though she isn't replying at the right time then your friends are right.But if you are still feeling the guilt,I would suggest you to call her up once and apologize to her. Tell her your feelings and ask her directly if she wants to continue the friendship or not. If she don't pick the call or don't respond to you in timely fashion even after apologizing, then you my friend should move ahead in life without her and that will be good for both of you. “We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
What does it mean to have respect for yourself?
This is a very good question and deserves a respectful answer. Self respect starts with a sense of ones own dignity or worth which includes ones character, and ones conduct. If you respect yourself by showing both your character and your conduct by following the Golden Rule for example it just follows that you will respect the dignity and worth of others. One example is reflected in King's judging others on "the content of their character . . .not the color of their skin" Self respect is physical in the sense that you keep your body physically fit and you keep your body language controlled to an appropriate response to the situation (don't be overly aggressive), open doors for ladies, etc. Body language is an important part of communication which can constitute much of what we are communicating. Having respect for yourself is a whole package of mind/body or mental/physical or thoughts/actions or words/deeds and hard to measure or separate. If you believe in concepts such as honor, integrity, and justice then carry those concepts into your everyday life you will have respect for yourself as well as others. "Without self-respect there can be no genuine success. Success won at the cost of self-respect is not success ? for what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own self-respect." - B. C. Forbes
What does "he who wants the rose must respect the thorn" mean?
This is a persian proverb generally meant to teach that nobody is perfect, because even the beautiful rose is not without its flaws (the thorn). Also the parable "can be understood to speak of life situations, teaching the valuable life lesson that even the best situations have their down-sides. It follows, therefore, that even the bad situations have their positive sides"
Why does respect matter? Why should you show respect to others?
Respect is a basic moral value or need which makes us aware that we are human beings not wild animals. So we should respect others and should be respected by others to prove our humane identity among all other creatures present on this earth. The awareness about respect must be instilled in every human being from his childhood whether he belongs to a lower social class or an aristocratic section of society. Respecting your parents, teachers and elders is the main step towards teaching the meaning and importance of respect in our life.Respecting others is a silent way to express our feeling for them. It's an unspoken way of communication which build unshaken and strong relations between people respecting each other. When a person shows respect for someone, then it means that the person have some value for him. His advices and suggestions are important for him.Some people, particularly younger generation, thinks that showing respect to someone means that you are degrading yourself. They take respect as a sign of weakness or inferiority which could harm one's self respect. But it is absolutely wrong concept about the basic trait or emotion which makes us a real human being.Another way of understanding that respect important is to imagine a world without respect. Thinkif nobody have respect for others views and thinking, regarding every aspect of life, and try to impose his own will then what would be the situation.Certainly we will stop tolerating each other completely and will become absolutely selfish in our thoughts and deeds which is actual moral degradation. We will start slipping towards immoral actions which leave no room for existing human civilization. In short if respect is taken out of human values then there is almost no difference between a human being and a beast left, other than physical appearances.So respect others and make them to respect you through you respected and polished manners. Don't forget to distinguish between respect and flattering as respect makes you a human being of higher moral value while flattering makes you a degraded person with no self respect at all.
What does the word respect mean? What does respecting someone mean?
There are two definitions of the word “respect”.The first is the most common definition, which is essentially “to treat someone in a way which shows understanding of their needs and rights as an individual”. Using this definition, to respect someone is to show them that you understand that they are an individual and that they deserve to be treated appropriately. It is not necessarily “kindness”, but it is very similar. I can show respect to someone I disagree with, or even dislike. An example would be in an argument, rather than saying “You’re an idiot” to the other person, a respectful way of disagreeing would be to say “I think you’re wrong about this” or “You seem to have a different way of looking at this situation than I do”. This is also the definition used when we talk about respecting someone’s personal boundaries or even respecting nature — it’s recognizing the rights, needs, and preferences of another organism and not overstepping or infringing upon them.The second definition is more straightforward: “to treat someone as an authority”. This definition is more common to see in schools or workplaces. It is the meaning behind “respect your elders”. This method of respect is one which involves deferring to others of a higher status than you.Everyone deserves respect when you use the first definition, but deciding who deserves the second definition is a bit more tricky.
Can you respect someone you don’t trust?
Yes. Many war heroes respected each other on the battlefield and they could hardly trust each other. It is possible. However, respecting someone does not mean you can’t voice your doubts. You can respect someone and still disagree, argue, and even actively hate them. Respect is simply admitting there is something about someone you admire. They can have qualities you don’t admire as well.