R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. Well really…it depends on the circumstances. I’m a Confucian by heart, but have been known to go on Daoist streaks here and there. I do like being the vehicle of 5,000 years of tradition, but sometimes I just want to lie down all day under that big ugly knotted white oak on Xu’s farm in the Jiangsu countryside, you know? Something I’ve found here is that it’s all about how you act. It’s the as-if, the rituals we do every day to break out of and build into the habitual practices that come to define us. If I live “as-if” I’m a kind and generous person while walking through the streets of Shanghai, then eventually I will become a kind and generous person. If I live “as-if” grandma Li’s joke is funny, then I will eventually adopt her sense of humor. If I live “as-if” I am happy and humbled to see you on this gracious evening, then guess what? I will become those things. So much of the concept of respect comes from understanding as-if situations and tailoring your actions according to them. R-E-S-P-E-C-T…take care, TCB.