Universal Reading: Honor
Universal Reading: Honor

Since the new moon solar eclipse on May 9, the word “honor” keeps popping into my head.  When that usually happens, I know it’s time to do a universal reading. So here we go.

Merriam-Webster’s web page for “honor” lists 10 definitions for it. For our purposes let’s focus on the first one with particular attention to the words respect and recognition.

This mandala asks us to “honor” all aspects of our lives by being aware of how this plays out in our day-to-day lives. For example, do we respect our inner spirit, our bodies, our minds? Do we recognize what our bodies/minds/spirits do for us every single day? Do we honor it with healthy habits?

On the day of the solar eclipse, it occurred to me that in order to live the joyful, peaceful life I want to live, I must honor 12 areas of my life that I often take for granted, to the point of disrespect in some cases.

In somewhat random order, they are:

  1. spirit – higher self
  2. body
  3. home
  4. talents (gifts)
  5. possessions
  6. business/work
  7. yard/garden
  8. spouse
  9. friends
  10. family
  11. mind
  12. planet/universe

Since newly awakening to this idea of honoring everything in my life, I’m beginning to see positive changes in how I see and interact with everyone and everything. For instance one of my least favorite tasks to do is washing the dishes. However when I approach the dishes from the perspective of honoring them, I find it very disrespectful to leave dirty dishes in the sink. Is this how I would want to be treated? I realize this example is somewhat trivial and yet it demonstrates in a simple way how to translate this idea into all aspects of my life.

I decided to create a new habit where every day I do one thing for each of the 12 areas, with the intention of honoring it in some way. It could be as simple as

  • giving my husband an extra hug in the morning as he goes off to work (#8)
  • clearing off the kitchen counter (#3)
  • donating things that have outlived their purpose for me and yet could still be of benefit to someone else (#5)
  • taking a conscious deep breath to bring me back to the present moment (#1)
  • de-weeding a garden bed (#7)

It just needs to be some action (big or small) that recognizes and respects everything in my life. For now it’s a work in progress with some areas being easier than others.

So looking at the bigger picture of “honor” we can easily figure out how to honor the people and things that we love and appreciate already. But how do we do it for everything else?

  • How do we “honor” our neighbor/friend/family member who maintains an unhealthy lifestyle or household?
  • How do we “honor” those whose beliefs are completely different from our own?
  • How do we “honor” those things or people we dislike, even to the point of hatred?
  • How do we “honor” the person whose actions cause harm to others?
  • How do we “honor” those who blatantly disregard the health and well-being of this planet?
  • How do we “honor” organizations/groups/countries/etc that promote hatred in the name of their cause?
  • How do we expect others to honor us, when we fail to honor ourselves?

All great questions…all have one simple answer.

We focus on honoring our own lives, by being a catalyst,
an example if you will, of what honor looks.

“How will one person honoring their life, change all the dis-honor in the world?” you may ask. You’re right…it’s a huge undertaking for one person…however if ten, one hundred, one thousand, one million, or one billion people do it, that, my friends, CHANGES EVERYTHING!

When we honor our lives and all those in it, we show others how it’s done…versus telling them how to do it. From each of our actions, this idea grows and radiates outward…for as we all know…actions speak much louder than words.

So on that note, I am honored and grateful that you took the time to read this blog post.

May your life be filled with a joyful heart and a peaceful mind.