May 2

INTEGRITY MONTH: DAY 2: “We prove ourselves by the way we live, and the way we live resonates among all we know and do.” ― Robert Vanleeuwen

There are things about me that I love and some I am not so crazy about. This is always revealed in a thorough inventory. This is the truth of my life since long before I got here. I did not know that in accepting and living with all my assets and liabilities, I would find integrity. I did not know that I had to stop trying to cover up my flaws and learn to let them be what they are in order to walk in perfect grace.

This is all quite opposite of what I believed.

We get to acknowledge our actions and behaviors and attitudes around here. We get to sit with the things we are pleased about and those that are not so pleasing. If I am particularly disturbed by one of the stories I am telling myself, I need to shift the story.

As soon as I own stuff that I am doing or believing, I instantly know it fits or does not fit where I want to go. If the path is the wrong path, I must go back and find where I made the wrong turn.

This kind of assessment of my motives and my beliefs is an ongoing process that I am thrilled I get to participate in.

As I get to unfold the truth for myself and my life, I can walk through the world with a greater sense of fairness for who I am and who you are. My expectations begin to diminish when I actively see and accept and learn to love myself (and you!) with a greater allowance for those things that make us human. I am okay, and you are okay kind of thing.

This levels the playing field, as I see it. I learn a tremendous amount about people by watching who they are. Not who they tell me they are, but what they show me about who they are.

There are some folks who talk a great game, but their day-to-day living does not show me the same picture. I get that. None of us is great at this. At best, we are practicing these things and learning to become better humans with each day.

Knowing that I am a walking, breathing and living example of that book is a huge responsibility. I work to remain mindful of how that resonates in the world around me. Some of my greatest liabilities have taught me the most in this arena!