Be
Sensitive to the Desire of Others
for
Privacy and Mutual Respect
By Apolinario Villalobos
Be sensitive to what our friends want when
it comes to their privacy and their subtle desire to be respected as they do to
us. We should not throw our weight around them or be nosy about their private
affairs, or be too fatherly or motherly, or too elderly in treating them. Some
people or friends for that matter are too shy to protest against our intrusive
acts. Take note that not everybody is boastful or arrogant or too
self-confident, if we have that kind of personality. Be sensitive about our
friends’ body language as a simple silence could mean a lot.
We should always remember that what may be
applicable to us, may not apply to them. If we allow for instance, friends to
just barge in our home without knocking at the door anytime of the day, some of
our friends may not, as they consider such act as too presumptuous or worse,
abusive. Some friends may not want to be asked about any problem that might be
nagging them, as their overly private character has made them too secretive
about such sensitive matter.
We should learn how to “give a suggestion” instead
of “impose an advice” just because those we want to help are younger than us or
belong to a lesser social status. Let respect of their person and wisdom
prevail. In this regard and based on my encounters, I found that even some of
those who have earned only elementary education have wiser or sounder decisions
than those who got educated in prestigious colleges and universities to earn
“high-end courses”.
Finally, be
careful and ever gentle in browsing through the pages of a book and most of
all…do not judge it by its cover.
