“I honor and respect him and want to maintain his dignity.”
Dignity. That’s a biggie. Dignity is one of those things that separates us humans from the beasts.
According to the dictionary …
dig·ni·ty noun
1. a proper sense of pride and self-respect
2. seriousness, respectfulness, or formality in a person’s behavior and bearing
3. the condition of being worthy of respect, esteem, or honor
4. the respect or honor that a high rank or position should be shown
5. a high rank, position, or honor
6. a dignitary (archaic)
Hmm, those official definitions don’t quite cut it for me. How about this one example …
I believe dignity is not ignoring the person with Alzheimer’s when they’re part of a group of people, even when they don’t say much … because they will look around the group for eye contact, any eyes willing to meet theirs for an all-important instant or minute to reaffirm that they’re there, not alone, not forgotten … even when they can’t find the words to contribute to the conversation.
Yes, dignity is a biggie.
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