At my highschool renuion 2 weeks ago I had a chance to catch up with an old friend. He was telling me about one of our former classmates that has really grown in the last 10yrs.
He said he "drips with intergrity".
Wow. that's a powerful statement.
I began to think about that description, how every ounce of his character is filled with such integrity that it seeps through and is almost tangible.
I then began to wonder if I can say that about myself, or rather if anyone can really, honestly say that about themselves. Is it possible to drip with intergrity, or are we all really good at putting on the mask of decent morality? We all have little secrets don't we? I suspect those people we have put on pedastels have regrets, remorse and shame just like the rest of us.
And yet I still feel I should strive to be a woman of integrity, despite the shortcomings, mistakes and secrets. To stand strong in my convictions, to not bend my values.....or maybe it's more than that.
Maybe being a person of intergrity is more about acknowledging the failures, accepting them, admitting them and still continuing to move forward despite bad choices, admitting you're human, forgetting the pride......
thoughts?
Friday, July 01, 2005
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3 comments:
the last part of what you said gives me hope....being able to admit failure, accept it and move on despite bad choices. if this is true integrity than maybe i can begin to accept myself. i needed to hear this today, thanks carolyn!
Our failures are a direct result of our humanness. To deny them is to say we are other than, maybe even more than human.
What an absolutely amazing compliment it would be to describes as "dripping with integrity".
I think you have the right idea about what constitutes integrity. I think I would also add, that our actions would support our words. So as we admit, accept and move on, others can witness that we have learned and are not just in repeat mode.
admitting our failures and accepting our bad choices - that often is the hardest part and where we get stuck. we just want to move on without doing the admitting that comes first.
admit, accept, move on and don't look back - hold your head high as a beloved forgiven child of God!
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