Today I sat with a lady who wept because I told her she had worth. Not because of anything she had done, or anything she was doing. Not because she earned it, or received it out of pity. But instead, simply because she is enough as she is.
I’ve spent the evening reflecting on this. And my heart is sad.
We live in a society where our worth is dependent on what we do, what we say, our relationship status, our skin colour, our nationality, our employment situation, our education, our sexuality, our family background, how we come to a country, our religious beliefs.
We strive to have it all, to find our worth, to have others see value in us. And we never seem to be able to get there.
But when did we become this group of people so desperate for the constant validation from others? When did our worth become conditional? Or subjective?
Have we spent too long listening to the ads on TV that say we need more and more to be as up-to-date as the next person? Have we spent too long in education systems that teach us to find our worth in our grades rather than following our passions, gifts and talents? Have we spent too much time letting the negative voices overpower the good? Have we watched one too many news updates that conditions us to view people as pawns in a political chess game? Have we become numb to the suffering of humanity in our own country and others?
Have we spent too little time building one another up? Listening to hear, rather than to respond? Encouraging one another?
Have we forgotten our shared humanity?
So what next? Where do we go from here? How do we repair the damage that’s been done over the lifetime of humanity?
How do we measure our worth?
Living Next Door to Alice 