This Is What We Actually Owe Each Other

What do we owe to one another?

The things we owe cannot be held. They cannot be purchased or put on a shelf. They are not about money, or jobs, or fancy houses or cars. The things we owe one another are not something we can see.

We owe it to one another to listen. Who is talking to you? Who is sharing with you, confiding in you, speaking to you? Listen to their words and to their tone of voice. Do not start trying to come up with a response as they are in mid-speech – instead, pay attention to what’s happening on their face. Are their eyes watering? Is their brow furrowing? Are the corners of their mouth starting to form a smile or a frown? Listen to what their words say, pay attention to what their body says, too.

What do we owe to one another?

Honesty. We owe honesty to one another. If you love someone, be honest. Life’s too short to hold love inside. Be honest about your love – but be honest about the messy emotions, too. Be honest about what hurts you, what you are afraid of, and what makes you sad. The foundation of the greatest relationships, whether they be friends or lovers, is honesty.

What do we owe to one another?

Respect. Respect for each other’s bodies, our hearts, our souls. Respect to recognize that the differences that exist between us are part of life, but those differences are never a license to do or inflict harm. Maybe it’s easier for amok to understand as a basic level of human decency. You’re not going to love everyone you meet, and that’s ok. You’re not going to like everyone you meet, either. That’s also ok. Not every human you come into contact with is going to be your best friend. Again, it’s ok. But that human that you come across, that’s someone that you should greet and meet with a baseline level of human decency.

For at the end of the day, we’re all living, breathing, walking miracles of life.