Advocates for Dignity- Seeing what is already there

Life has a way of presenting one with multiple opportunities to interact with people; Passing words uttered amongst beings stuck within an orbit of busy circling. Each one has their own full agenda and the to do list is the dictator. Faces in correspondence, but do they see the eyes of the one to whom they speak? Do they see the ache to be seen? To be known?

This is something I am learning to be better at- stop, see, engage, and give dignity to people. My sweet husband is very gifted in this area. He has a way of understanding the marginalized, a soft spot for the overlooked.

(photo credit to the husband~ Kenneth J. Watson, Thailand 2008)

The gas station is not just a place to refuel; it’s a place to meaningfully engage that man asking, “regular fill?” That veteran on the side of the road, cardboard in his hands, begging for work is not just homeless, he’s searching for belonging. Our window rolls down and my husband’s hand extends, reaching to give the veteran just what he’s looking for. No money to share, but “just saying hi is enough”, he says with hope in his eyes. The Mexican man pouring my coffee at our honeymoon breakfast is not just a resort employee; it’s a man who is working 12 hours a day to provide for wife and child. Our tip is not just extra, it’s indispensable. I watch the two, my new husband and this hard working man. Broken Spanish and smiles build a bridge between two cultures. Kindness is simple but profound and forges friendship.

I wonder how society would be shaped, how culture could shift if we paused and truly saw people; if we asked questions to know their stories. If we distributed kindness freely without consideration of what we would receive in return. It turns out that all it takes to break out of the dizzying orbit of egocentricity is to stop and see. Look into those eyes, even if just for a second. Look for that longing, that very human longing that you recognize because it’s what you see in yourself: the longing for dignity. Each interaction, however small, is an opportunity to give dignity. Not to assign dignity, for it was already assigned by the Creator, but to dust it off and call it out. Remind that soul that it’s there, you see it. It doesn’t need to be a long philosophical conversation. It starts with mindfulness and is carried out with a humble view of oneself in the sight of God. Aren’t we all just hearts hunting for worth? It’s His generous dispensation of acceptance that compels us to engage people. It starts with us. It starts with we who claim to study and know the way of Jesus. If not us, then who? I’d like to start a new way. To choose an eternal perspective, to purposefully interact in such a way that gives people the gift of dignity.

Want to join me?