Dignity

I think we all start off life at the same level, and it's only through our actions and how we choose to grow our character that our dignity is solidified. Dignity is such a fragile thing. It's something that can be easily compromised at the snap of a finger, but can take years to be rebuilt. Careful and diligent monitoring of our actions is crucial to maintaining our dignity. It doesn't matter what race you are, your gender, your sexual orientation, your religion, or your socioeconomic status, dignity is something we can all foster and hold close to our very hearts and souls. Sadly, there have been many times when I have compromised my dignity. There have been many occasions when I have made a damn fool out of myself. While these instances can't be undone, they can be recovered from, and to an extent, I have done just that. It's fortunate that we can all climb our way out of the various dismal states we may place ourselves in, and return ourselves to a state where we can look in the mirror and truthfully say that we like the person that we see. That is the purest and most unfiltered definition of dignity if you ask me. There are some traits that most people would associate with dignity, but at the same time, there are individualized characteristics and values uniquely held and viewed by each individual that they would ascribe dignity to. That's what makes dignity such a worth while topic to discuss; how it is perceived and what it is associated with is as unique as every individual on this planet. Sure there might be uniformity on some level, but no one views dignity in exactly the same fashion as someone else. At the end of the road, when all is said and done, our dignity is the only thing that we can take with us. It is the only thing that we will leave behind to be remembered by, so that is why it is so imperative to practice and maintain.