Respect

Respect everything that makes up the Dao. If you think it or a person does not deserve it is basically not up to you. There are different kinds of respect. The easiest respect is based on fear of consequences. The difficult kind is based on admiration, appreciation and an unconditional love for all things in life.  This is the one we need to practice.

Respect based on fear will keep you alive, safe, and unfortunately separated from the rest of the universe. Respect out of fear come together where another has more power and strength or a simple lack of understanding and compassion.  This is common with bullies, countries, tyrants, large animals and wars: the sad parts of life.

Respect based on admiration, appreciation and an unconditional love for all things in life is positive because it requires some understanding of that which we value, that in turn is a connection to the rest of the universe. This kind of respect will provide a psychological foundation for you and what you are respecting to connect. A positive connection will strengthen your sense of being. This sense of connectedness to all things will allow you to grow more aware of the Dao or the universe, an awareness in which you can be wiser and healthier. Positive respect can dissolve isolation based on fear of things you do not understand and draw you to search to understand them. In trying to do so, we understand a bit more of the Dao even if we are not quite sure what it all means. This is the beautiful, the reason to live, parts of life.