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fish's avatar

Really enjoyed reading this, (and can definitely relate to being impacted by the “sinner” narrative while growing up Catholic). Although no longer religious, I still do believe in the beauty and significance behind the random, and I appreciate the openness to include both narratives as both hold equally significant weight to distinct peoples.

More to the point- it was really wonderful to hear the reframing of the arguments towards “esteem”. Self-esteem feels like an ongoing internal argument on “worth” (which is relieving to see called arbitrary, and is highlighted as such by the “dollar amount” argument), whereas working towards acceptance feels like a goal towards general stability of self. Great read! Thank you for sharing!

Benjamin Kyle, LCPC's avatar

Appreciate the comment! I think your belief in beauty and significance is so important. Whatever a person’s meta narrative about how we all got here and what it all means, it helps establish a foundation for the worth and dignity of each individual without condition.

PaigeH's avatar

I loved this article<3<3 it even made me tear up a bit, thank you ben!

Benjamin Kyle, LCPC's avatar

Wow thanks. I’m glad it was helpful. Thanks for reading!

Divya B Kumar's avatar

Loved this one, Benjamin. Human life is priceless. We all are more than enough.

Sarah's avatar

Great article. A very interesting thought experiment. I can relate very much to living a life with low self-esteem and low self-worth despite worldly achievements-all due to development trauma. Self-acceptance is definitely what I’m working towards :)

Kashaf Rashid's avatar

I loved this article. Thank you so much for sharing. Happy birthday.