The musician, Matt Andersen, is phenomenal. When I heard his live performance of the carol, O Holy Night, a few years ago, it took my breath away.

Last week, while listening to his studio recording of the same carol, I was struck by pairing the end of one particular line paired with the beginning of the next.

…the soul felt its worth

the thrill of hope…

What helps someone to feel a sense of being worthwhile, of inherent dignity and worth? There may be several answers.

One has to do with how we treat each other. If a person is treated as care-worthy, dignity-worthy, love-worthy, worthy of being heard, that helps a person to feel they are this way. If a person can treat his or her own self with sensitivity and care, that helps too. Although far more complicated than this, if one is treated as worthy and can come to treat him/herself this way, I suspect this may create some room for hope. (Interestingly, it may also create room for other feelings such as grief.)

Although this video does not capture the powerful experience of being in the audience, here we have Matt Anderson performing O Holy Night.