Integrity:
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The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
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The state of being whole and undivided.
When I was younger, I used to think integrity meant ‘doing the right thing’. And I guess that is a small increment of what integrity is, but as I’ve matured, I’ve come to understand it in a deeper and more meaningful way. It’s not always just about doing the right thing, but more so doing the right thing in the right spirit or right understanding, if you will.
For example, you witness someone being bullied. Integrity isn’t solely about doing the moral thing and standing up for the person being bullied. It’s about standing up against the bully because that is what you would do for yourself. You use your whole, undivided self to stand up for someone who may not have that piece of themselves (the ability to stand up for themselves) yet. You adapt WITH integrity. You’re able to place yourself in someone elses shoes, as if they were your own and defend what’s right.
Integrity has everything to do with self love. If you have one (Love), you ultimately have the other (Integrity). Think of this: if you lack a wholesome Love for yourself, you lack a wholesome integrity compass. In that bullying situation, you may know the bullying is wrong, you may strongly disagree with it, but are you willing to project compassion & love onto the situation and stop it? How could you if you lack that type of love, compassion, & understanding for yourself? How can you follow the direction that the compass is pointing to if you don’t practice using it within yourself?
In today’s age, integrity is very hard to come by. Most people are out here solely for self. They lack Love (for others and self), but the ego is in abundance. You see a whole lot of want for a person with integrity, but not a lot of people upholding it within themselves. It’s a sad thing to think we all want it, but not enough for ourselves…
Here’s the thing:
You need integrity to build damn near everything you do with a strong foundation. If it’s not honest, it won’t get very far. That includes self, relationships, businesses, etc. If we lack integrity, we lack something sturdy for what we are building, but if we decide against compromising the integrity of the building, we decide for a better future within us, for us, and for everyone who crosses our paths or even better, enters our building, our LIFE.
I know I ranted into different aspects of integrity, but it all comes full circle. We are in a drought of this stuff. It’s not questioned enough. We’re not questioning folk’s integrity. We’re allowing the wrong shit to prosper because 1. We aren’t tending to the integrity within ourselves and 2. We’re not seeking accountability in others to follow through with integrity. We need something SOLID and we need it SOON.
Contributor:
Adrianna
Moses
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