Honor and the Macklin Method

by Ron Macklin, MacklinConnection Founder

‍

What is honor? Why is it in the Macklin Method? I now hold that honor is foundational to the Macklin Method — but I did not when I started this journey. 

What makes honor a foundation along with love? To honor someone is to hold them as worthy of respect or high regard. Being worthy of respect or high regard is a way of being I create about the people to whom I am about to Toss Lines.

Who is the person that I am about to speak to, to toss lines to, and notice their noticings? I have the responsibility of creating who they are and honoring them, if I choose to. 

Wait, I don’t even know this person and I’m going to honor them? Sure, because we can know many things about people. Such as: 

• They have a Scared Self just as you and I do
• They have or had parents or someone who helped them grow up
• They likely have people they love and care for—like a spouse, family member, or friend
• They have to pay for goods and services just as we do
• They are aging just as we are
• Their Self-Talk, like ours, is wondering the same things about us we are wondering about them
• They can’t live a thriving life without the best help they can find, whether they “know” or want to admit it
  ‍

Instead of withholding my assessment, others are honorable until they prove it to me. I think of how they are creating their life, with their Scared Self present, with competition around them, with changes in technology outpacing their ability to learn, with the vast gaps in their knowledge. Yet, they rise every day to take care of their families, their bodies, and their networks. now and when their bodies cannot continue to work. When I think about these things, I find it pretty easy to see others as worthy of my respect or to hold them in high regard — to honor them. They are human with all their gifts and their gaps.

Here’s the reciprocal part: Every person I meet through the Macklin Method I choose to honor. I also act in a manner that makes it easy for them to honor me. My commitment is to be honorable — to act in a manner in which others are able to see me as worthy of respect and high regard. I let them know I have the same challenges and fears they have, and I am in action to take care of my family, my body, my networks, and my future when I can no longer work.

When I notice someone around me not honoring another, I toss the line, “Honor and Be Honorable.” I ask them questions about who they are creating that person to be for them. Are they human, do they have a family, are they aging, do they have a Scared Self, do they love? Most of the time they become quiet and create a new way of being for the other person.

Want to learn more about how to honor yourself and others? Join us for an Macklin Method workshop.