Treating Everyone with Respect, originally written in 2017.
On Respect and Being of Service
There are ideas that stay with you over time.
Respect is one of them.
So is the idea of being of service.
Years ago, I thought about these ideas in the context of daily interactions—how we treat people, how we respond, how we show up. That hasn’t really changed.
What has changed is where I notice it.
What It Means to Show Up
Being of service doesn’t have to be something large or visible.
Most of the time, it shows up in small ways:
- paying attention
- listening
- taking a moment to understand
It’s less about doing something for someone, and more about how you are with them.
Respect works the same way.
It’s not something you announce.
It’s something people feel.
In the Studio
I think about this in the studio more than I used to.
Working in clay requires a kind of attention. You can’t rush it. You can’t force it. You respond to what’s happening in front of you.
Some days the work comes together easily. Other days, it doesn’t.
Either way, the process asks for patience.
There’s a parallel there—between working with clay and working with people.
Both require:
- attention
- patience
- a willingness to stay present
Along the Shoreline
Much of my work begins along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
When I’m walking, I’m not trying to solve anything. I’m noticing:
- patterns in the sand
- shifts in light
- the way water moves and leaves something behind
There’s a kind of quiet respect in that process—allowing things to be what they are without needing to change them.
That same way of seeing carries back into the studio.
A Simple Practice
Over time, I’ve come to think of respect and being of service as a practice.
Not something you arrive at, but something you return to.
It can be as simple as:
- taking an extra moment
- offering attention
- recognizing that everyone is carrying something you may not see
Some days it comes easily.
Some days it doesn’t.
Closing Thought
I still come back to this.
How do I show up?
How do I move through the day?
How do I treat the people around me?
There’s no perfect answer.
But paying attention feels like a good place to begin.
