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Inner Sanctum


One thing I remember on our back-to-basic seminar in 1990's was this question asked by our resource speaker -- "What is the thing that you consider as your inner sanctum?"  We gave different answers. He said, "It is your wallet."

I am grateful to my mother the way she raised me and my brother -- never touch or open things not ours including letters and wallets.

Every one of us has his own private or secret something, which we consider as sacred. We allow no one to touch or enter it.

I value my privacy highly. I do not want others to invade it. Even my own family members cannot touch my mobile phone nor my laptop, nor open my email and social media accounts.

According to Findlaw.com, there are four (4) kinds of invading privacy, which can be punishable by law, depending upon your territory --
  1. appropriation of name or likeness;
  2. intrusion upon seclusion;
  3. false light, and;
  4. public disclosure of private facts.
When a person shares his story with you, he does not give you even 1% permission to share it with the third party, not only because it is not ethical or impolite  to do so, but also because you do not know the repercussions it may cause to him. After all, it is not about you -- it is about him, his story.

A person's life story is also the inner sanctum that he shares only with trusted people close to him, so value the trust, and understand that if you share it with others, he has all the reasons in the world to get frustrated and angry with you.

I had a flatmate who did not socialize with the others for a simple reason that he did not want to have issues on gossips and name dragging, knowing that many 'cheap' people love to talk about other people's lives. He had a point. Yes, I do not get myself engaged in such conversations, too. I'd rather read or watch documentaries or movies online.

In writing, when I have to feature a person, I ask his permission first, and I show the write-up to check if the information I included is correct, or if there must be something for addition, deletion or change. It is called respect to seeking permission as to which areas of his inner sanctum can be 'visited' by readers.

If we respect other's inner sanctum, there will be fewer conflicts and less sadness in the world. 

If we love a person, we respect him. And we must passionately mean it.

---

Photo credits:  Pixabay

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