It is important that we remember to honour the people around us, and when we do honour them, that we do it well.
Honour as a verb is to regard with great respect and high esteem meaning that we bestow upon someone great admiration. I like to view honour as the tangible form of respect. If we were to view respect as feelings of admiration and esteem, then we would see honour as the actualisation of these feelings. This means honour must be a greater form of respect and has a more powerful impact on our relationships.
We shouldn't remain confined in how and who we choose to honour. Just as people have different love languages (gifts, affection, words), people also have different ways of honouring. Some may view the act of giving gifts as a way to voice admiration and respect whilst others may opt to receive words. When we are honouring others we should be willing to branch out of our traditional ways of showing our love and regard, we should be understanding of the things others value. I like to receive cards and meaningful words but I also understand that many people around me choose to show their emotions and gratitude through time and their presence. I do not look down on this show of affection or disregard it. Their way of showing emotions is just as valid as my own.
Honour requires humility, it requires a sense of submission (putting your own desires and comfort under the umbrella of respect and love). Honouring others often requires inconvenience and always requires sacrifice. A gift is a sacrifice of my possessions or money, my presence is a sacrifice of my time. This is why honour is powerful, the act of sacrifice is often associated with affection and care, the greater the sacrifice, the deeper the presentation of emotion.
I am not saying that we should lay ourselves down for others to walk over, I'm just saying that for the people very important to us we should be willing to sacrifice - to actualise our affections in a tangible form. It's not enough to love someone internally, we should honour them tangibly. I am learning not to just say things but to do them. If I know I cannot be there for you to the extent a friend would, I must stop calling you my close friend.
I want my actions and thoughts to align, for my honour and respect to correlate.
Get into the habit of expressing your emotions to others through honouring them. Remember, honour is just the tangible expression of your admiration for someone. Show love rather than just saying it and watch your relationships develop for the better.
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Make sure you check out my most recent podcast episode - The Importance of Honour - for more insight.
