Show Some Respect

Show Some Respect Michel de Montaigne once said, There is, nevertheless, a certain delight in and a general duty of humanity that ties us, not only to beasts that urinate life and sense, but until now to trees and plants (Foglia). Respect is the catalyst in the formation of a stepping nether region on the travel guidebook through the woodland of life, creating bonds with in totally living creatures along the agency. It is through respect that the other six of the seven teachings are formed. Instilled in the younker of my time, or at least in my family, is to always be respectful towards all elders. This is something that forthwiths youth has let fade into the past.It is heart wrenching to see elders being bad mouthed, ignored, and toughened so cruelly. I was always taught to listen to what my elders were offering me in advice, even if I didnt urgency it. I never once dared to talk back. If you respect your elders, take the time to listen. Youll be truly stimulate as you hear their stories of long ago. Elders hold so much wisdom of the past, we can learn from them on how to better our future as people and conducttakers of mother earth. Croaker 2 That being said, respect can in addition be defined in how we treat Mother Earth. Taking the time to recycle is one way of showing respect to her.Its really sad to see all the garbage being buried beneath her surface. Mother Earth is not a dumping ground, shes a birthing ground. all(prenominal) spring she gives birth to new life to shed more beauty upon us. From the first flower break the surface to the greening of the trees. She welcomes in not only the human births, but the births of animals as well. That alone deserves the design respect, so lets do our part and keep her clean. Respect yourself and take good care of yourself (Using the Seven Traditional Teachings to Raise goodly Anishinaabe Children 18).This is the first step in defining what respect is. How do you treat yourself? Do you ask for he lp when you need it or do you proceed alone? Questions deliberately left unanswered because its too hard to face the fact that they lost respect for themselves. tribe are constantly disrespecting their bodies by abusing drugs and alcohol. Maybe thats why most wont flavour in the mirror. They are too afraid they wont like what they see because they lost all respect for their spirit to thrive. Because of this I see the pain emanating from the eyes of our precious elders as they watch our youth commit cultural genocide.Mashkode-bizhiki, translated into English from the Ojibwe language means buffalo. I do not know on the nose why our people chose this animal to represent respect in the seven teachings. However, I believe their paths have been intertwined with the Anishinaabe people because together they endured the tests of time. They had to go survive harsh winter conditions without the luxury of electricity to keep them limber up at night. They were also slaughtered senselessly b y Croaker 3 the white man as they took their lands from them. Here we are today, still standing strong but fewer in numbers just like the mashkode-bizhiki.If the path through the forest of life was marked with stones that represented each one of our sacred seven teachings, the stone of respect would begin the path. The next teachings would then follow. Because, respect forms all other teachings that assists in the formation of bonds with all living creatures as well. Works Cited Foglia, Marc. Michel De Montaigne. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 18 Aug 2004. Web. 21 Jan 2013. . Using the Seven Teachings to Raise Healthy Anishinaabe Children. Booklet. 18. print