Author Archives: Dignity Freedom Fighter

I had the opportunity this week to meet with some amazing students at Pittsfield High School. I sat around a table with 12+ high school students just to talk about whatever was on their minds concerning their thoughts on access to care and their experiences with health care in the Berkshires. We had about 40Continue reading “Dignity: The Students Teach the Teacher “

I spent my week visiting my parents down in Georgia. During our drive down I had the opportunity to speak with a gentleman who just bought a convenience store. He was born and raised in Mexico and has been here in the United States for about seven years. He first asked me where I wasContinue reading “Dignity: The Preserver of Dreams”

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 thatContinue reading “Dignity: The Long and Winding Road “

Easter is a day that is celebrated in many ways around the world and for many faiths and religions this is one of the Holiest weeks of the year. I am writing this dignity post today not to talk about the origins of Easter but to talk about what this day has meant to me, especiallyContinue reading “Dignity: Be the Joy “

Life can bring many emotions. We feel joy when a baby is born. We feel proud when our children succeed and happiness when we find our soulmate, or we get the job we always wanted. These are times we celebrate, and we talk about how wonderful life is. Our greatest challenge is when tragedies happenContinue reading “Dignity: Shine Your Light and Overcome “

One of the biggest roadblocks to dignity is often our internal battles. It is when we have difficulty overcoming those times in our lives when we did not honor our own dignity or the dignity of others. When we are on our lifelong dignity journey, these thoughts will come to us, and we will thinkContinue reading “Dignity: “This is the Way.” The Mandalorian “

I recently attended a ceremony that featured a young man who had a very challenging and difficult life. He had been in an out of many institutions and programs since age three. He had no family, so he had to depend on the programs to be his family. This young man talked about his challengesContinue reading “Dignity: A Life Changer  “

Every year since 2017 I have received a message from a former patient because they are celebrating another year of sobriety. She took her last drink the day she came to the hospital I worked at back in 2017, and she said that it was how I treated her and her family at their most challenging momentContinue reading “Dignity: The Slayer of Bias “

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” ― Arthur Ashe  When I was around eight or nine years old, I had the honor of meeting Arthur Ashe. Some of you may not know who he wasContinue reading “Dignity: My Life’s Purpose “

“Do not heal in isolation. Connecting with others is how we develop compassion for others and for ourselves.”– Archbishop Desmond Tutu   I was hesitant at first to send the message below. It can be difficult to speak about something as tragic as the Earthquakes in Turkey. The significant loss of life and the tragedyContinue reading “Dignity: Connecting Through the Human Experience “