INTEGRITY MONTH: DAY 7: “So, character is how you do things, as well as what you do, and a person of character understands that how they get things done matters as much as what they get done. Character is about integrity over time, trustworthiness over time, authenticity over time, generosity over time.
Sometimes you’ll hear people talk a lot about values in conjunction with the word character, and I always say to people that values are what guide your behavior when no one is looking and you don’t think anyone will ever find out. The way you behave when you think you can get away with it is who you really are.”― Carly Fiorina
I really like the last sentence. I know how much I want to do things that are not within my ethos. My head tells me I could kill someone and not feel bad, but I know that is not true. At any point in my life, I have suffered from doing things that my heart knew were wrong.
This is a very old idea for me. That I could steal or rob others. That I could harm or kill others. Any of these things hurts my heart.
And the REAL sentence that matters here is “Character is about integrity over time…” Such deep truth for me, every day. All the time.
There are no shortcuts to a life lived in integrity. I have seen that in others who were cheating others and how it played out in their lives. Their absolute devotion to Ego had so many high price tags. Their inability to risk life lived in accordance with a Higher Plan or a Higher Purpose was determinate in how their lives became unhappy and miserable in many ways.
I get to live with a clear conscience, a clear path, a clear way forward that I know will be governed by a Power…the one I live in my heart with and that Ego never trusts. But it is there, nonetheless. And I am happy that its voice is the one I can hear more often than Ego’s when I am doing what I need to do to stay connected.
Dolphin Hug 