#285: Dignity

I really appreciate the way Pip digs into the true meaning of dignity in his piece below. It reminded me of something very specific someone once said to me years ago. It was, "If you tend to be hard on yourself, you likely are hard on others too..." And that has really stuck with me. It can be easy for me to get down on myself and lose my sense of self-worth when I fail in some way, even if small. And then I've felt how it can be a downward spiral from there which isn't good for myself OR others OR the betterment of the world. But I've come to realize that when I wear a different lens and instead aim to value my own self-worth throughout the inevitable ups and downs, I can be a greater team member by moving through life with deeper admiration of others too for exactly who they are, regardless of 'who' that may be. Thank you, Pip, for bringing to light many great thoughts and ideas to ponder about dignity.  

- Amanda  

DIGNITY

The word keeps flashing: Dignity.

I sense it is an incredibly important idea but the word itself is thrown around a bit too much.

I sense it is often used as a weapon as opposed to a bridge.

I’m digging into it…

Working Definition: Dignity

Dignity is the idea that (1) every single human being has exactly the same inherent value and that (2) the inherent value of humans can never ever go up or down.

I consider that “treating others with dignity” is acting consistent with this idea.

Clarifying Idea #1: Dignity in this working definition can never change based on anything including good or bad deeds (e.g. kindness/hatred), possessions (e.g. wealth/poverty), titles (e.g. teacher/felon) or attributes (e.g. intelligence, beauty). This is not to dismiss the idea that “kindness” might create better results in the world than “hatred”, for instance, or that intelligence can indeed serve the world fantastically.

So… Jeff Bezos has the same inherent value as a person experiencing homelessness in Saratoga.

Clarifying Idea #2: “Treating others with dignity”: acting as consistently as I may know in any circumstance with the specific person in front of me in accordance with everyone being of equal inherent value while undeterred in realizing I likely do not have enough context or wisdom to be fully successful. We will fall short. But widespread dedicated wisdom-based efforts could be world-changing.

Clarifying Idea #3: In our current cultures, I sense that we – first and foremost – do not treat ourselves with dignity. It seems we, actually, are caught up in the act of believing that our own inherent value can rise or plummet. Powerful industries are predicated on us believing we can, actually, increase inherent value and that Jeff Bezos is, actually, inherently more valuable than a person experiencing homelessness. The counter-messaging to “dignity” is extraordinary.

Clarifying Idea #4: If we can’t do a great job (yet) of treating even ourselves with dignity, I wouldn’t expect us to do a great job (yet) of treating others with dignity!

…AND… as always… I really have no idea what I am talking about!!!

Pip

"The meaning of life is not what happens to people but between people…”…Thich Nhat Hahn