R-E-S-P-E-C-T....

....i'm trying to find out what it means to you.

"respect" is such a powerful concept in our society.

people want it, people seek after it, people destroy it, people earn it.

but what exactly does it mean? and what does it entail?

if you did or said something that was pretty bad/wrong, and a close friend of yours admitted to you that because of your actions or words, s/he lost some respect for you, how would you react?

would you understand, or would you be so offended by the notion that a friend could lose respect for you that you'd contemplate (or actually carry out) ending the friendship?

even if you were super hurt that your friend said s/he has lost some respect for you, could you or would you forgive them?

when it comes to friendships, is there ever anything your friend(s) could do or say that could diminish (even if only temporarily) a certain degree of respect you have for him/her?

even if you still care, even if you still want them in your life, have you ever lost some respect for someone you love because of something they did or said? if so, how do you (as the one who has lost some respect for your friend) get that respect back? does that person have to earn your total respect again? or is it just something that returns after forgiveness and healing?

if you were on the receiving end (meaning, your friend told you s/he had lost some respect for you), would you be interested in gaining their respect back again? or would all be lost?

i'm interested in your thoughts.

so go ahead... sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me....RESPECT!!!
(just a little bit...)

:-D