Integrity. It sounds a little stern and stiff. It calls to mind the prospect of discipline and restraint. It may sound a little unwelcoming. And perhaps not a lot of fun.
But consider the deeper meaning of the word. Traced to its etymological roots, integrity means living out of a place of integration and completeness. Integrity implies connection. At its heart, integrity means living in a whole and unfragmented way.
Integrity means all parts of ourselves are united in their goals and actions. Integrity means our behavior in the world is rooted in the core values that hold our lives together. Integrity means all the various parts of our selves are acting in harmony and connection. And in that spirit, integrity means that our outer actions reflect and radiate our inner values that create who we are.
If we aren't balanced and whole, then, living with integrity may sound like a tough pill to swallow. When our bodies, minds and actions are fragmented and unclear, integrity does require discipline and restraint. A lack of clarity reigns in our thoughts and deeds.
But as soon as we return to the center of our lives, growing clear about the deepest principles that guide us, living with integrity grows as natural as waking up each day. As soon as we commit to living from our highest selves in accord with our inner compass, a harmony of being awakes. A feeling of buoyant wholeness reigns and we naturally behave. And we behave naturally.
Living with integrity means staying true to our deepest principles of love, kindness and care. Embodying integrity means letting our lives shine with honesty and truth. Living in wholeness, in deep recognition of our bonds to all beings, means living out the golden rule as a matter of loving course, not just out of discipline. If we see our own reflection in the faces of others, after all, we naturally treat them as we, too, would like to be cared for.
Integrity asks us to hold many truths in our hands at the same moment. When we are whole, we recognize that we carry all of life within us. We see that our lives, like all of life, carry both the sun and the moon, the light and the dark, Â the night and the day. In this spirit, we are no longer required to take sides in life. We stand on the side of all.
And this allows tenderness and mercy to bloom out of our allegiance to the truth. We understand how difficult life can be, and we see clearly that we all long for the same deep happiness and love. We recognize frailty and fallibility, in both others and ourselves. This leads us to judge others with less harshness and be more generous with our forgiveness. In this way, our integrity helps heal the world.
Let's invite the season ahead to bring us back to the center of our lives, so that we may live in balance and integrity. Let's stay close to our deepest loves, and let's act out of them. Let's keep our thoughts and actions rooted at all times in the values we hold most dear.
In this way we shine most brightly, with clarity and uprightness. We become a beacon of wise and steady presence that offers the possibility of wholeness and inner union to everyone who stands in our light, and beyond.