Pondering Worth and Dignity

Happy Martin Luther King Day! 

I googled Martin Luther King speeches and found this one. It’s called “What is your life’s blueprint?” And one of his themes is cultivating a deep belief in your dignity and self-worth. 

Listening to this speech stirred a memory. 

It’s of my Mother, her sitting in our red and white wall-papered living room saying “you are a person of worth and dignity”. I’m certain that this was a counter-offering to things my father would do or say. Him not having the capacity to consistently be a version of his best self with us.

You are a person of worth and dignity.

That statement has been rumbling around in my body for 40+ years. And, regrettably, I’ve not fully absorbed it until recently. 

It’s not soley because of the patriarchy, although as MLK spoke to the structures of inequities-but never, ever let anyone determine your worth and value. 

Nor from my upbringing, yet there were missing foundational conditions that could have been different. But many of life’s lessons are meant to be learned elsewhere and from others.  

There have been many many challenges in this delayed belief and integration of value and worth. And, I've not reached any enlightenment. I will continue to wrestle with how I show up. Yet, I’m certain this confidence and assuredness has rooted at the right time. 

I wish you a day of rest, being of service to the greater good for the sake of our humanity, and this big, beautiful planet we all call home.