INTEGRITY COMMENTARY: The two most important things one must learn about living a life of Integrity is to own your behaviors, your actions, and of course to be genuine: Flawed and fabulous, saint, or sinner, loving and angry, all of these attributes helps comprise a human being and are part and parcel of living a life of Integrity.
The greatest edict which runs through all major religions is “To Create No Harm.” So how does a flawed human being live up to this seemingly impossible standard. It seems as though we are being set up to fail. However, I have found that the most important thing when it comes to “creating harm,” is intention.
But intention has its pitfalls. Marcus Tullius Cicero was aware of this when he wrote, “the road to hell is paved
with good intentions.” I think Cicero was trying to point out that many of us are in denial about our actual
intentions. One needs to be acutely aware of the intentions behind their actions. If your intention is to “fix someone” rather than supporting them into finding their own way, or to rescue them from themselves, rather than letting them deal with the consequences of their own actions, or manipulate them into accepting what you believe is truth, then your intentions are askew.
Nevertheless, we are here to teach each other and it is honorable to share our life’s experience, but it is not up to us to attempt to recreate a being that has already been created and is in process of self actualization. One can only work on their own Integrity and model to others to do the same. As many wise teachers have said, “Example is always the best teacher.”
We are called to best person you were created to be, which is often a difficult calling. A person of Integrity admits to their failings and makes amends when necessary. This person aspires to be harmless to all living things, but is aware that circumstances may cause us to slip into a moment of cruelty. A person of Integrity stands firm on the
of Harmlessness, by developing a moral code from this Truth and adhering to it to, as much as they possibly can. Also, they are willing to accept the consequences of their actions, rather than trying to weasel out of them. The most important attributes of a person of Integrity is that they respect all life, honor the life paths of others, and recognize that all of their actions affect everyone.
Therefore, if you want to be a person of Integrity just be “real” and honor your uniqueness. It is not an accident that you were born in to this world, to be perfect in your own way. It is obvious that the world needs you, otherwise you would not be here. Therefore you have two choices; you can chose to either unleash more suffering in our world of or set of chain reaction of goodness by being the best you, you can be.