Sister-Friend's Love Advice

"It is sad," she sighs, "nowadays, there are so many young people that do not know that they deserve to be respected ... and, perhaps even more sad, is that so many have learned how to love someone without respecting them."

Intrigued, her listener leans forward. "You mean, they don't treat the person they love with respect?"

"No, no, no -- I mean, that may happen, but my point is something else ... you see, it is so sad, but some young people, through their relationships with others, have learned something that I never mastered."

Sister-Friend pauses to gather her thoughts.

"You see, I have been so very fortunate, so blessed ... growing up, the people that I loved, I also respected. My mother and father, relatives and family friends ..." Sister-Friend sighs again. "I was blessed, and I know that. But others have not been so lucky. They had a father or a mother that they did not respect. Their parents did not deserve their respect. But they were still their parents, and so they learned to love them in spite of that."

The listener leans back. "So, as children, they learned how to love someone without respecting them."

Sister-Friend nods vigorously. "Yes, exactly. And so, as adults, they can fall in love with someone whom they do not respect."

She looks rueful. "I do not think it is a good thing," she says.