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Home  | Flourishing in Life  | Human Growth and Development  | The Value of Life

The Value of Life

BY: T. Franklin Murphy  | March 2017
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We have no appropriate measurements for human value. We express empathy by recognizing value judgments, reengaging in connections, and loving our fellow humans.
This person is worth a million bucks; but that person over there is only worth one thousand. Placing a monetary value on human life sounds ludicrous. But value is given to both; just exchanged on different markets. We evaluate worth using comparative judgments. “This is good because it is better than that.” We assign value through comparisons. Determining value for a bushel of corn or an hour of skilled labor may be effective; but comparisons fail when measuring personal-worth. People possess too many variables, valuation changes with the ever-changing criteria. But many remain perfectly comfortable saying, “He’s good; and she’s bad.”
#wellness #happiness #flourishinglife #judgement
By what criteria do we determine the value of a person? And who is qualified to make these constricting valuations? We need to catch the ignorant judgments while still bouncing in the mind before they drift off our tongues hurting others and exposing our over-biased minds. One person is not of greater value than another. We all just are. We live, we breathe, we feel pain, and we feel joy. We exist. Is my joy more important than the joy of another? Does my pain hurt more than his pain? I feel my personal pain and joy more forcefully than I feel other’s pain and joy; but conversely, they feel their experience sharper than they possibly could experience mine. The experience, whether mine or yours, doesn’t diminish the importance of the experience. By freeing ourselves from determining human value, we clean the lens, opening a more diverse experience. Our defenses fade. With clearer vision, we are more likely to catch ourselves before dismissing the importance of another person’s suffering.
We often show a propensity to excuse lack of empathy by discovering a cause; they have a skinned knee because they ran too fast. A mentality (a defense mechanism to create separation) distancing us from suffering. The wealthy disregard the suffering of the poor by citing they are lazy, the misfortunate disregard the destitute because they use drugs. The religious dismiss the unrighteous, and the unrighteous dismiss the self-righteous. Everyone dividing and dismissing; it makes me sick (as I divide the empathetic from the judgmental).  Just because there is a cause, we shouldn’t devalue the suffering—the pain is still poignantly felt no matter our race, economic status, or the effectiveness of our choices. Pain is still pain.
 
These are habits of thought; but injected with mindfulness, we can catch and modify, expanding compassion towards humanity instead of a select few within our own limiting groups. By not justifying our devaluations of worth, we become connected—not divided. Something we desperately need in this world. We become part of the universe together.
"Just because there is a cause, we shouldn’t devalue the suffering—the pain is still poignantly felt no matter our race, economic status, or the effectiveness of our choices."
Relationships, politics, and societies expand with a more inclusive purpose. I fear we are moving in the wrong direction, more divisive, more unaccepting, and more punitive.
 
The foundation of compassion and empathy emerges from inclusion. We are connected. If the world is to change, we must cheer for others in their successes and embrace them in their failures. We are all priceless, of great value.
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FLS Link. Patronizing Toleration:  Toleration is better than discrimination. However, toleration suggests refraining from acting on objectionable differences. We can do better.
FLS link. The Joy of Being. We find joy in living through a more serene path than accumulation and achievement. We find joy in relishing small moments of simply being.
We confront the overwhelming experiences of life through a variety of escapes. A healthy adults adaptation mature as they grow, allowing for contact with reality; others, however, build deeper deviations from reality and squander the richness of living.
Developing enough self-confidence to not be threatened by differing opinions.
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External Links:
External Link: Why you find it so difficult to be nice to yourself
External Link: Where Does Your Mind Wander--And Does It Matter?
External Link:  How the Pursuit of an Easier Life Can Sometimes Lead to a Harder One
External Link:  Techniques That Can Help You Release The Stress That’s Built Up & Stored In Your Body
Flourishing despite troubled beginnings
Banner link: Punishing Imperfection-  Critical self-judgments create an unfriendly environment for growth. Under harsh conditions the self-begins to conceal reality to protect the soul.
The beginnings of change start with acceptance of where we currently are and a realistic view of where we want to go.
We gain knowledge by wandering in uncertainty. Firm convictions of rightness blind us to the wealth of information available, narrowing our wisdom, blinding our vision.
External Links:
External Link: 5 Small Morning Habits To Set You Up for a Happy Day
External Link: Thinking for Yourself: Checking in with Camus
External Link: Don't Panic: Replaying My Shame
We have no appropriate measurements for human value. We express empathy by recognizing value judgments, reengaging in connections, and loving our fellow humans.
Topics: Meaning of Life, Happiness, Enjoyment, Gratefulness
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