Dignity and Humility - A Self Reflection
Do like, share and spread the narrative humility if you like. Our World needs more of such tales to make it a better one. I am grateful for my experience with the homelessness and less fortunate as it provided me a greater capacity for compassion and empathy. Even so, I still sometimes have to stop and take stock of myself. I will never want to forget what it was like so that I will never treat any homeless, less fortunate or low-income person with less than the respect that they deserve for all their suffering. And, I am grateful for each individual that came along who each, in their own way, made my journey a little more tolerable and brought cheer and hope into my life. Something to think about as we go about our daily routines;- Together we light the way for all indeed.
By constantly trying to be acceptable to others, we lose the acceptance of ourselves. The world is full of people who have lost connection to their divine sparks, just either to appear presentable and likeable on social media, 'make nice' with people, or just avoid anything "negative". To remain healthy, you must honour your own rawness just as much, if not more, than you honour others. Ultimately, the way a person sees you is a reflection of their relationship with themselves, not your virtue or value as a person. With this in mind, we can deflect the concerns and opinions of others.
There's an unmistakable radiance that comes from our own authenticity. Certainly, being reasonably considerate of others is a virtue and making space for love and connection is healthy. But years of trying to fit in to a culturally-suitable mould will suffocate your soul and dampen your connection to the magic of life. When you surrender to your true self's full expression, exploring the unkempt boundaries of your being, allies will naturally be drawn to you and you will find an inner richness and fulfilment that is greater than any social approval could ever bring.
Anyways, a sophisticatedly dressed and clearly rich woman asked an old street market egg vendor;- 'How much are you selling the eggs for?' The old vendor replied, 25c an egg, Madam.' She said to him, 'I will take six eggs for $1.25 or I will leave.' The old vendor explained that the profits for these eggs are not much, especially since their productions have recently dipped significantly attributing to the harsh weather. The woman refused and again, threaten to walk away. Eventually, the egg vendor replied, 'Come, come, please take them at the price you want. Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.' She took the eggs and happily walked away feeling that she has won.
The woman then got into her fancy car and went to a posh restaurant with her friend. There, they ordered whatever they liked. They ate a little and left a lot of whatever they have ordered. Then she went to pay the bill. The bill costed her two hundred and fifty dollars. She gave them three hundreds and asked the owner of the restaurant to keep the change. This incident might have seemed quite normal to the restaurant owner albeit has been very painful to the poor egg vendor. The point is: Often than not, why do we always show that we have the power when we buy from the needy ones? And why do we get generous to those who do not even need our generosity?
My father used to buy simple goods from people struggling to make ends meet at high prices, even though he did not need them. Sometimes he even pay extra for them. I got concerned by this act and asked him why does he do so? Then my father replied, "It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my son”. Compare the above social hypocrisy. One is indeed disappointing whereas the other is inspiring and full of hope. Let’s enlighten our vision.
On a flip side, here is another good story too. Someone once asked the richest man in the world, Bill Gates if there are anyone richer than him in this world and he replied, “Yes, there is a person who is far richer than me in many ways.” He then narrated a story. It’s during the time when he wasn't yet rich or famous. He wanted to buy a newspaper but didn’t have enough of change. So, he returned it to the vendor and told him of not having enough change. The vendor said, “I’m giving you this for free.” Coincidentally, after two to three months, he was again short of change for a newspaper and that same vendor offered him the newspaper again.
Twenty years past and Bill is now famous and successful. He remembered that vendor and found him after about some months of searching. Bill asked him, “Do you know me?” He said, “Yes, you are Bill Gates.” Bill asked him again, “Do you remember you gave me newspaper for free?” The vendor said, “Yes, I remember. As a matter of fact, I gave them to you twice.” Bill wanted to repay the help that he had received from the vendor. Nonetheless, the vendor said, “Bill, don't you think that by doing so, you actually will never be able to repay me." That day Bill realized that the newspaper vendor is actually richer and more successful than him because he didn't wait to become well-to-do or rich to help someone.”
Always approach people as being neither inferior nor superior to you and give others the freedom to express their authentic selves without fear of being negatively judged. We must be able to interact without prejudice or bias, accepting that characteristics such as race, religion, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, and disability are at the core of our identities. People need to understand that the truly rich and successful ones are those who possess big, rich and fulfilling hearts rather than merely lots of money. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Often than not, the only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all. The world is not always as kind as we wished it to be, which is why there is a never-ending “demand” for people with hearts. We all need to care for each other in order to make this world a better place for us and those who are yet to come. Have a wonderful day.
(Disclaimer : I offer articles of differing perspectives that have some raw truths that I identify with, albeit in no way am I saying that this is right or correct as we all have our own heart to follow. I'm open to many perspectives and thoughts and it's my way of sharing my ever evolving thoughts and understanding, of my own realizations, self love and journeys, which comes from time spent in solitude and self reflection. These are mirrors to help us, to help me understand ourselves / me better.
All rights and acknowledgement goes to the author / originator of these stories, not just me.)