Dignity

In another forum, the subject of dignity came up. One person attributed it to the ego, saying it was something we’d lose with awakening.

However, if we consider dignity in the sense of self respect, I would suggest this is not lost. Rather, it evolves.

Dignity is certainty typically co-opted by the ego. It becomes about a me and what I expect. In the west, this is often associated with wealth and fame. But someone wealthy and famous who acts out in self-destructive ways is not expressing self-worth. Rather, they are illustrating a lack of it. The media is full of examples of how self-worth does not come from these things.

The book Soul of Money explores some interesting examples. Millionaire female Microsoft executives who were miserable vs sub-Saharan Africans who lived rich lives but were dirt poor by western standards. It was the second who had the greater dignity. Poverty brings major challenges but does not mean loss of dignity unless we give our dignity away to superficial things.

In fact, dignity does not come from anything outside of ourselves. But if we are lost to ourselves, we come to seek it from outside and often mistakenly give it away to beliefs or other people.

The Soul of Money also explores the big difference between the myths of scarcity and the truths of sufficiency. Sufficiency is the much healthier way to prosperity.

After ego identifications fall away, a higher dignity can arise. A self-worth based on our inherent divinity and the value of this vehicle of expression we have been gifted. A self-worth based on what is unchanging. A dignity rooted in the sacred. This is our true value.
Davidya

Last Updated on November 11, 2017 by Davidya