Raw Reverence
This space is about reverence and dignity: raw reverence and raw dignity. A dignity that is innate, organic and unabridged can only be received with reverence.
Why reverence?
Reverence is a long and heavy word. How I ended up with this one? I could have used nouns such as dignity, honor, respect or charity. My problem is this: I don’t know how to scrub overtones and undertones off those words, as in
dignity in medical treatment:
so that patients don’t feel too bad (overtone),
but treatments are treatments and patients are patients (undertone);
honor hospice patients:
to cheer them up a little (overtone),
but we know there isn’t hope left (undertone);
respect the disabled:
so that we all feel nicer (overtone),
but of course they are what they are (undertone);
charity for the needy:
so that they don’t feel as lowly (overtone),
unfortunately that is how it is (undertone).
By the simplest logic, with
a bit more objectivity;
a bit less bias,
we visit questions such as:
why do we keep hearing news reports around war rubbles,
“x number of children died”;
“y number of women died”;
but we don’t hear,
“x number of elderly died”; or
“y number of the infirm died”?
Why do diapers conjure thoughts of cuteness when cladded around babies, but not when cladded around people of other ages?
Would a volunteer at a rehab feel offended if someone thought they were clients?
Would an oncologist get upset if their name and the patient’s name were accidentally swapped on the registration form?
Someone is going hungry. What do we do?
A. Do nothing.
B. Feed him occasionally.
C. Feed him generously and keep feeding.
D. Bring him to the table to share the bounty.
Are donations a measure of generosity, or something else?
Why are we not supposed to tell how much money we have?
Does everyone really need a job for that many years?
Do we even need to turn on that heater in the winter?
A bird out of its bird’s-eye view would be wondering about the same questions.
Perfection is not our goal and we aim mainly to inform and stretch minds.