Dignity
dig·ni·ty
noun
the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.
a composed or serious manner or style.
a sense of pride in oneself; self-respect.
As I ride into my day job on the R train, local, I see other souls, encased in the shells that carry them through this physical plane, on their ways to their own daily pursuits. Each have their own joys and pains, triumphs and failures, children, and spouses, apartments and houses. Responsibility, whether self-imposed or thrust upon us, causes us all to, at the very least, arrive to earn our keep in a world where bartering was long ago replaced by money as the currency we use to amass and attain.
Some days it feels pointless. There can be a real sense of “why bother?” when it seems like we aren't reaping our just rewards, and whatever Lord you believe in knows that it's a struggle!
If you, like I, have ever felt down, put-upon, like you just can't win no matter how hard you try in life, I'd like to posit that you are an example of courage and bravery, the likes of which are no less impressive than that of a soldier ready to charge onto the front lines of battle. It may be hyperbolic to equate the two, but I don't think so.
To get up each new day and continue the struggle amidst the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” contains within it a quiet dignity that I think we can all take on as our mantle through the tough times. You keep getting up. You keep fighting through whatever version of your ‘crap’ is. Even on the days when you are being dragged, kicking and screaming, through it all, you still do it. Take a moment to remember how honorable it is that you've done all you have! That you continue to try and try and try again!
The meaning of life? That's a good question, and it's one that we answer with our actions on a daily basis. What's the meaning of life? To you? At the end of the day, regardless of who we have, or are still seeking, to help bolster us through our journeys, we are doing a lot on our own. We ALL deserve a collective pat on the back as well as a heaping dose of self-forgiveness as we sojourn through various stages of enlightenment.
But most of all, remember there is Dignity in the pursuit.
Live your life like it’s golden, baby!