Dignity: The Long and Winding Road 

When you make the commitment to hold the values of dignity you say that you will honor the dignity of yourself, you will honor the dignity of others and you will connect to a higher truth. It is a journey not a destination when we travel the road that is called dignity. I have found that when I made this commitment is when the roadblocks would appear. Those dignity stoppers consisted of past mistakes which can cause you to not treat yourself with dignity. Also, letting your bias dictate how you treat others will lead to treating people in an undignified way. It is amazing that something so easy as acting with dignity can be very challenging. 

I write about dignity not because I am an expert on the subject, but because I am traveling that road and I have encountered those roadblocks and sometimes I overcome them and sometimes I fall back into my old ways. I share my journey with you in hopes that you can learn from my experiences and the road for you will be less bumpy. Honestly this journey through life we take is our own but every day we have the opportunity to live our best life possible. I am not saying that if we choose to live our lives with dignity everything will be wonderful, and all our problems will be solved. What I am saying is that dignity will give us the strength to face those challenges in hopes of building a better life for ourselves and others. 

I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet many people from different walks of life, some who are successful and some who have experienced tragedy. When I can sit face to face with someone it does not matter where they are in their lives dignity is the compass that dictates how they will continue to move forward. I listen and I learn much from other people’s experiences. The fact that someone shares their most inner thoughts and life experiences with me is amazing and it is something that I honor and cherish not just as a nurse but as a person. People will come to me for advice but all too often they help me. In fact, this week was a perfect example of how just talking and listening has helped me during a challenging week. 

I spoke with two people this week who shared a part of their life story with me. These conversations came at the right time for me as I was having my own personal struggles. These conversations and moments of vulnerability helped me and gave me strength to push through the challenges I was facing. I am honored and blessed that I was able to share with these wonderful and insightful people. They helped get me back on the road to dignity and helped me reset and become focused again. I believe when we open our hearts to dignity these moments find their way to us. It is that human connection that makes all things possible. I want to say thank you to those two amazing people.  

Maya Angelou once said, “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Every day I strive to be the rainbow and, on those days, when there are clouds, I am lucky enough to have those rainbows come into my life. 

Charles Redd RN 

Dignity Freedom Fighter