Esteem News 

2November2009

Esteemful living in Dignity Village

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Economy; Environment; Health; Philosophy; Politics.

It started as a Tent City founded for homeless people and grew into a permanent neighborhood called Dignity Village.  After conducting elections, Dignity Village even has their own administrative and legislative branches of government.  The name tells it all: Dignity Village is a place that gives dignity back to people who’ve lost their jobs and homes - which sadly has become a national crisis.

The small houses are primarily built by the villagers.  Building their own small houses in Dignity Village also means building self-respect through the knowledge that they can still accomplish good things for themselves.  Organizing an entire village with all kinds of activities and responsibilities is an even stronger means toward building a high self-esteem.

Dignity Village is an incredibly strong sign of lived esteem.  People who feel they’ve lost all esteem in our society just because they lost job and home can experience an esteemful life.  Actions like Dignity Village are necessary to give hope and esteem to those who’ve lost so much.

1November2009

Self-esteem deals well with the past

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Sometimes it’s difficult to deal with our past.  Whatever experiences we had in the past, the greatness of our self-esteem appears in the part of our past we continue to integrate in our life.

Some of our past experiences can be helpful in certain moments of our present or future life.  People with a strong self-esteem know that and use it for their development.  Our self-esteem gives us enough inner strength and conviction to know which part of our past we need to leave behind us and which parts should be retained.

A strong self-esteem deals in a very balanced and healthy way with the past.

31October2009

Esteem never makes fun of people

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Philosophy.

Making fun of others seems to be a sport for some people.  Children learn that it’s ok to make fun of others because they see it on television each day. 

Ridicule is the extreme end of making fun.  Ridicule creates bad feelings for the people who are its target. 

Expressing fun in this way has nothing to do with esteem.

Esteem never makes fun of people.  Picture a personality toward whom you have the utmost respect.  It could be a political leader, an athlete, a religious leader or someone in your family.  It’s impossible to think of making fun of this person, isn’t it?

Esteem is a genuine expression of our respect toward people.  Esteemful acts can be fun but always in a respectful way.

30October2009

Esteem is about passion

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

With esteem we outwardly express our respect toward the world.  We can’t express esteem half-heartedly.  Giving esteem is about passion because it touches us deeply as social human beings.

It’s impossible to imagine giving esteem without being fully involved in each esteemful act.  Everything and everyone to which we express esteem is touched, including ourselves. 

Half-hearted esteem can’t be genuine.  Esteem is always about passion.

29October2009

Esteem for beautiful destinations

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Environment; nature.

National Geographic published a list of the world’s 50 greatest destinations.  Among these 50 special places, 7 are located in the U.S..  Being added to this list represents a great sign of esteem.   These are the selected U.S. destinations:

1. Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
2. Piedmont of Virginia
3. Atlanta in Georgia
4. Coast Redwoods, California and Oregon
5. Sawthooth Mountains in Idaho
6. Aleutian Islands in Alaska
7. Molokau in Hawaii

If you find your favorite destination on this list it may encourage you to give esteem toward this place.  You can give your dream destination esteem by speaking about its beauty or special meaning.  Which destination would you choose to be your favorite place?

28October2009

Esteemful acts of Lydia Pendley

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Economy.

“Any person who in any way suffers because of hunger or suffers because of poverty — that affects me. We are in a world that is truly interconnected and we need to all realize that we play a role. No matter what we do, small or large, whether it’s dramatic or not — all contributes.”

These are the words of 66-year-old Lydia Pendley of Santa Fe, NM who has dedicated her life to helping others.

Her esteemful actions are based on her respect for the dignity of every human being and her desire to work for peace and justice in the world.

Lydia Pendley celebrated her last few birthdays a little different than most of us.  She registered her party as an event on Stand Up Against Poverty Day.  She asked her guests to make a donation instead of bringing gifts and collected more than $2,100.

Lydia Pendley has found her unique expression of giving esteem as a sign against poverty.  Her dedication and esteemful actions encourages other people to follow her example and express esteem in a similar way.

27October2009

Esteem for our family members

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Philosophy.

Whether you are a husband, wife, child or sibling, you live with your family each day.

Sometimes it’s easy to remember to give esteem toward strangers but forget to give esteem to persons who live with us.  We see them daily, we’re used to sharing our lives with them.  What we see daily we tend to take for granted.

Just imagine a life without one of your beloved family members and you realize how important they are for you. 

Recently there was a story in the news of a family who lost their home through fire.  The teenage son told the story of how he escaped and, after a thoughtful moment, reflected that he wasn’t concerned about any “thing” that he lost.  It was more important for him that all of his family members were safe and alive.

Never take for granted the ones who live with you.  Everybody deserves esteem, even more so the ones who are closest to your heart.

26October2009

Esteem and happiness

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Happiness is a gift.  Happiness is also a matter of personal choice.

What’s happening to us in the outside world is often an inside job.

We can approach daily circumstances with an attitude of our choosing.  When esteem is an important part of our life we generally choose to be joyful.  This joyful inner attitude will attract the outward experience of happiness.

The pursuit of happiness is actually an inward journey.  It’s up to us to keep our attitude joyful by living esteem daily.

Our inner joy leads to happiness for us and for other people.

25October2009

Life experience through self-esteem

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

We encounter many situations in life that go against our wishes and make us uncomfortable.

This attitude comes from our desire to be able to control life as much as possible.  The less control we have, the less comfortable we feel. 

The truth is that a strong self-esteem frees us from this urge to control our life.  A strong self-esteem takes life experiences just as they happen.  With this attitude we define the experience itself and how we handle it.

Aldous Huxley explained this truth with the words: “Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.”

With this constructive attitude we find ourselves better able to handle life’s variety of experiences.

24October2009

Esteem is inherent to human life

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Esteem is something everybody wants in his life.  Getting esteem is like fuel for our “motor” of life.  With esteem we feel motivated and encouraged to do what we do and to be who we are.

Esteem touches us deeply by giving utterance to our real being.  When we receive esteem we receive confirmation that we are precious and important.

Another aspect that makes esteem so essential is the fact that esteem persists.  Honest esteem doesn’t disappear the next day. 

We don’t need to prove each day to ourselves and other people that we deserve esteem.  Esteem is inherent to human life.