Respect Yourself

I love the song Respect Yourself by The Staple Singers. Bruce Willis should have taken the lyrics to heart before cutting his track. That’s a blog topic for another day, forgiving yourself for past mistakes!

If you don’t respect yourself ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot. Are you destroying your potential or accomplishments with self destructive behavior or habits? Do you remain in unhealthy environments because you feel unworthy of happiness? Take a step back and try to look at yourself and the situation objectively. Sometimes we do not realize the fire has surrounded us we are so focused on the fight in front of us.

The fall of ’90 I joined the top bras of Domino’s in Colorado for a mule deer and elk hunt. The camp consisted of wall tents with pot belly stoves for heat. An early October snow deposited two feet upon our arrival. I was in full leg braces and could not shoulder a rifle without the assistance of shooting sticks, but the thought of a compromised physical appearance never entered my mind. I was fighting hard to hold on to vestiges of an able life and in denial. It was the first I heard praise of my determination and could not understand why. I thought I was just one of the guys. After several sub zero nights the temperature rose to nearly fifty, a heatwave. I stripped down to a Henley shirt and hunting pants. A photograph was taken of me walking down the hillside to camp. The photographs were sent to me a few weeks after our return. I had never uttered OH MY GOD until I saw the photograph of me walking. The first thought was who is that??? Then the shock shattered my denial. I was a walking skeleton. I looked like death and I realized how foolish how dangerous denial was.

If you are unwilling to face your demons you owe yourself the self-respect to do battle. It will not be easy, effortless and certainly not painless. You deserve to be happy and realize your potential. If I had not seen the photograph I would have taken the dirt nap within six months as a result of my denial. The slap in the face I desperately needed enabled me to get busy living. Thanks for reading. Have a great day! dj