Today's
Meditation:
Integrity
is a beautiful word. It means "wholeness,"
or "soundness," such as in an "integrated
system" or an "integral part of the world."
Of course, we use it to describe someone who sticks to a
strong moral code, but the meaning of the word is much
deeper than that. If we strive for integrity, we're
really striving for completeness, and we're really
striving for a wholeness that reflects who we are as human
beings.
We
could say that integrity is the only way to integrity--
that sticking to our values is the only way to
reach wholeness. It's important, though, to keep in
mind that our values are not absolute qualities, written
in stone. Instead, they should be malleable as clay
so that as we learn more about life and living, we can
allow our values to change with us. After all, how
many people have valued work above all else, only to
change their values after their families have left
them? How many people have valued money above
everything, only to recant when they've discovered how
lonely they are with their riches?
"Knowing
your values" is the only way to be able to
act in ways consistent with those values. And acting
in that way can help you to reach a state of integrity in
your life, rather than feeling fragmented and
incomplete. If you know what's important to you in
life, then you can make decisions based on that and see
results that come about because of your dedication to your
values. And we can become whole people-- people of
integrity-- only by sticking to what we feel is right, no
matter what.
Wholeness
and completeness may sound like impossible dreams, but
they're really just waiting for us to make decisions based
on what we value the most.
|