Dignity: In the Service of Others 

“The Service you do for others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”, – Muhammad Ali 

It will soon be a new year and often around this time we make resolutions or promises to ourselves that we will make changes. Many of us will commit to a healthier lifestyle, will commit to exercising more, or losing weight. We make January first as that day we will change our lives. I cannot count how many January firsts I have let past where my intentions were good but my follow through was not. How many of us have been there and done that.  

I have written many times about the three connections of dignity. Dr. Donna Hicks PhD defines them as a connection to our own dignity, a connection to the dignity of others, and a connection to the dignity of something higher. Out of those three connections it is the third that seemed to bring the biggest challenge for me. Much of my dignity work I have focused on the first two. I have been working to become a better person and I have been working to treat those around me with honor and dignity. I have come to realize that as I have taken my dignity walk it has opened my eyes to seeing the biggest picture and that image, I am seeing is saying to me, am I paying my rent for my room here on Earth? 

My first four months as the Diversity Officer for Berkshire Health opened my eyes to the challenges that many of the people in our community face every day. If I had not opened my mind and my heart and listened to those who are out on the frontlines doing the hard work, I never would have known about those challenges. It wasn’t that I did not care because I have been though hardships in my life. It was that I had to change my way of thinking. I used to say to people I was able to make it. I had hardships too. I grew up poor and Black in a single parent home, I had a time in my life when I was homeless, I had times in my life where I had to decide whether to pay the rent or feed my family. In my arrogance I would say I was able to change my life. I put myself through school and become something better. What I forgot about was all those people who helped me get there.  

My dignity journey helped humble me. As I was humbled it opened my eyes to see that I had to honor those who helped me by serving and helping others get the same opportunities I was able to receive. I have an obligation to society to help make life better for others. This is my commitment not just for the new year but every moment I have on this earth to make a difference. I am in a place, and I have been given an opportunity to have a voice in making a difference. I am committed to doing that that best way I know how to elevate dignity and partner with those how have my same vision to create a place where all have the same opportunity to succeed and serve. 

“I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road. I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. I am still learning.” 

— Muhammad Ali 

Happy new Year, I will see you in 2023.  

Your servant leader 

Charles Redd RN 

Dignity Freedom Fighter