Real success requires respect for and faithfulness to the highest human values-honesty, integrity, self-discipline, dignity, compassion, humility, courage, personal responsibility, courtesy, and human service. Michael E. DeBakey

Definition Human values are the virtues that guide us to take into account the human element when we interact with other human beings. Human values are, for example, respect, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy and love towards other human beings.

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Let me start with this statement: If you are breathing, you have value!

I have tried to recall if when growing up did I ever hear or read about self-esteem, knowing your value, sadly I cannot think of any one time that I did.

For most of my life I consider myself as a failure. All my heroes were comic super heroes. I did have one person that I looked up to, that made me feel great, that was my maternal grandfather. He wasn’t one to give hugs, or say ‘I love you’, but when you were with him you felt that he would protect you, that you were worth saving. I do have one picture of him holding his granddaughters, he had a huge smile sitting there in a pink wicker rocker.

I knew my mother loved me, that she supported me, but I cannot for the life of me ever verbally feelings like I was valued.

Before President Lyndon B Johnson signed the “Civil Rights Act’ in 1964 black people were considered less than a human being. Other words they did not have the same value attached to them like those who were white in skin color.

All people have value, they deserve to be treated as such, not like something we stepped on while walking. It makes no difference about skin color, culture, ethnicity.

When people are stripped of their value they loose respect for themselves, some begin to spiral into addiction. I said that remembering how I learned what was happening in Canada among our First Nation Community. Inadequate education, unsafe drinking water, uninhabitable housing, place on reservations. Oh yes, there has been some progress, but from my observation, it is almost moving in reverse.

When people fill they have value you can start to see their life gradually change. Their self-esteem starts to go up, they begin to take pride in their housing, and all other aspects of living.

People with value their interactions with others are what is stated above; “respect, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy and love towards other human beings.”

So dear reader every living human being has value and should be treated as such!