integrity

within the seeming state of humanity as a whole, of all the topics that have presented in the past few days, integrity keeps coming to the surface. i have in my life a person who is estranged from his adult daughter. he recently received word that his daughter is potentially very sick. he doesn't feel as though his daughter would accept any personal contact from him (her choice). of course, i feel as though he should reach out to her, however, he is a person who keeps his own counsel, and will not try and contact her. 

this man has taught me so much about integrity : both sides of it. he has lived his (quite long) life in absolute integrity with himself, and is therefore quite comfortable in his own skin. he was taught by his father that if a person agrees to something, they keep their word, even if that means they lose in the proposition. he tells stories of both sides of the equation, himself the recipient of great victory, and grievous loss. the lesson here, it seems, is to think through what we say more thoroughly. 

integrity becomes a way to be in the world, 

if one seeks, is willing, and allows. 

the holies tell us that first was the word (which became creation itself). should our word become our bond, and we become aligned with integrity, sometimes we will lose, and sometimes we will win, but we will always be known to be a person of our word both to our self and to the world, and therefore a person who can be believed and counted on ... and a person who may create - whatever we choose.

integrity is (always) a choice. 

and sometimes it takes great courage.

when we are asked a direct question, we should think not only about the truth of our answer, but also about the statement we are about to make. the truth is the truth, and language includes more than words. when asked for a statement about anything, direct the thought of answer toward the service of love. to ask myself, 'how may i serve love in this moment?' will also include a directive toward how my tone, eyes, body language, and statement itself may create a clearing for another to feel they are loved and supported with my answer, even if the message of truth is tough.

to know integrity in the self means to know honor (and thus, self-love) is served. learning to live life within integrity leads to a more satisfying and loving relationship with your self; and ultimately a richer, fuller, more satisfying experience in this realm. the truth is your mind cares about you and desires to give you the life you program it to bring. situations we find ourselves in notwithstanding, this is absolutely accomplished within the messages we send ourselves and others. the cares of living day-to-day are less stressful when the view one has of himself is honorable. the mind is trained however we choose. we all carry in ourselves the ability to maintain integrity, honor and right-doing, but there are occasions when we must train ourselves to rather look to the light of not only truth, but also of love (uplifting ourselves and others). to carry love and light in any message is to uplift. there is always a choice to make in the delivery of keeping one's counsel, and remaining within the realm of integrity. look also to justice for guidance. justice is blind, and sees no factor outside of fact, although even fact may be controverted to serve the message one chooses to deliver.

(how)

may i serve love's purpose in this moment! (?)

... is always available, even if it hasn't been thought of before. 

: within integrity is honor :

: within love is service :

: within faith is ability :