integrity revisited

Integrity: An uncompromising adherence to a code of moral, artistic or other values; utter sincerity, honesty and candor; avoidance of deception, expediency, artificiality or shallowness of any kind. (Webster's Third International Dictionary)

If you haven't already done so, please read my earlier article on Integrity on the Tera's Wish site at I believe that this is the most important, and difficult, article I have ever written. This past year has been an evolution, and I would like to go back and address this again because in that article I tried to cover a lot of ground and therefore had to be more general than I would have liked overall.

It has been written that "Integrity starts with a set of principles that will guide one's response to circumstances.". I believe this is true. That set of principles is your personal code of conduct, against which you measure the appropriateness of your own and others actions and reactions.

There are many aspects to Integrity - but three that I think are exceedingly important are: honesty, keeping your word, and fairness.

HONESTY

Mark Twain once said "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Lying is a lot of work! Beyond that, lying creates turmoil and distraction in your life. You must be ever vigilant. A liar never truly knows peace. (He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known" - Proverbs 10:9)

As an artist, it is difficult to be at your most creative if your inner life is filled with turmoil and angst. It is often in the quietest moments that we find our true creative genius. Achievement and talent without character are hollow and flat.

I recently came across this quote:

"Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity than straightforward and simple integrity in another. A knave would rather quarrel with a brother knave than with a fool, but he would rather avoid a quarrel with one honest man than with both. He can combat a fool by management and address, and he can conquer a knave by temptations. But the honest man is neither to be bamboozled nor bribed. " - C. C. Colton

Part of being honest, in the realm of integrity is taking responsibility. If you are living your life with integrity, taking responsibility becomes easy because you separate the actions from the person. If you make a mistake, you know that you did so out of an honest error, or because you did not have all the information. Because of that, apologizing, or making amends, is a natural act - not a concession!

KEEPING YOUR WORD

If you live your life with honest, others will trust you. Trustworthy people have to be consistent in their actions and lifestyles - in other words, keeping your word. Ann Landers wrote about this in a column entitled "Maturity". She wrote, in part:

"The world is full of people who can't be counted upon. They are never around in a crisis. They break promises and substitute alibis for performance. They show up late-or not at all. They are confused and disorganized. Their lives are a maze of unfinished business. Such behavior suggest a lack of self discipline-which is a large part of maturity.

Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stick with it, riding out the storms that may follow. This requires clear thinking, and the courage to stand by your position once you've taken it.
Immature people spend a lifetime exploring possibilities and then doing nothing. Action requires courage. And courage requires maturity.

Maturity is the ability to harness your ability and your energies and do more than is expected. The mature person refuses to settle for mediocrity. He would rather aim for the stars and miss the mark than to aim low and make it. Even if he misses the stars, he is still on the top of the world. Never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for. "

There is an important aspect to keeping your word that you may not have considered . . . . each inaccurate statement you make chips away at your credibility. In other words, your value to others diminishes when you do not keep your word.

FAIRNESS

The third side of the Integrity triangle is Fairness. While Honesty and Keeping Your Word are aspects of how we relate to ourselves - Fairness primarily deals with how we treat others. To be fair demands that you treat people as equals, and recognize each person's experience and expertise as having value.

Integrity cannot be divorced from Art; our bodies, emotions and mind function together to make up everything that we are. If we are healthy - in mind and body - we are living with integrity and self-discipline. Integrity is self-controlled and authentic. It is truthful. In this place of integrity, we are constantly being filled through our creativity. This place within us has no impulse to take or steal, on the contrary, the self-loving self shares. When we live with integrity, our arms are open to give, and therefore to receive.

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