As the growing season nears an end, and preparations begin for the next round of training and growing, I find myself pondering the idea, the human right, called dignity. This may become a series, because so much comes up when we really think about dignity.

One of Websters definitions of dignity is  “the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect.” When I think of the word dignity, the definition that forms is “the honor of personhood.” When people stop being individuals and simply become objects, whether it’s objects to abuse, or objects that compel compassion, their personhood and therefore their dignity is violated and sometimes destroyed.

Honoring a person’s dignity is seeing that person as individual of value and worth; someone who brings something unique and priceless to the world and to our lives. When a person’s value is honored, they can flourish and thrive. But, when a person is treated as having little or no value, hope, initiative, dreams, and personhood begin to fade and eventually disappear.

We have choices. I love that! We can choose to look at every person that crosses our paths as people of infinite, intrinsic value. That  simple choice on our part may make the difference between hope and despair for the individual we see. Or we can choose to not see at all, and allow the nameless faces in our lives to become objects we pass each day, with no meaning to our lives. What a loss that would be.

How does this apply to Common Ground? There are more than a hundred people involved with Common Ground in one way or another. What a great place to engage dignity! What a great place to practice seeing the unmatched value in each individual. What a great place to GROW!

Here’s to honoring dignity.