Integrity: The Priceless Diamond

Integrity is the most precious and priceless diamond we all possess. Among the many facets of human nature –integrity, like the diamond, exudes dynamic strength and dazzling transparency. Even more impressive, the diamond of integrity is one we can polish to the utmost clarity, quality, and luster we command –no matter who or where we are. This realization holds immense authentic power. Before, I get into what I mean by authentic power, let’s take a closer look at this word “integrity.” It’s a word we have all heard used in different contexts, yet rarely do we give it a second thought. Most of us, simply, assume we have integrity. Kudos to those who are reading this and wondering if they have a deficit of integrity. I highly commend such humility, because integrity is such an intricate and overlooked facet of our humanness. It takes an admirable amount of awareness to recognize all the times we operate outside our integrity. Therefore, before we talk about its extraordinary value in our life, I am going to first shed light on what integrity truly is.

Integrity stems from the Latin word integer meaning “wholeness.” “Integer” or “wholeness” is undivided, and what could possibly be more essential for peace than to be at one; without divisiveness, confusion, or brokenness. Is that not what every human trying to keep from crying right now yearns for? Is that not what the human berating another human right now desires? Ditto for those fighting a battle they feel powerless in, as well as those drinking alone right now, those not wanting to get out of bed right now, those afraid to speak their truth right now, and everyone seeking validation right now. We are all behaving in ways hungry for a specific sense of worth, because we often feel less than the wholeness of who we truly are. We have forgotten our own divinity, or our ability to connect with our Higher Self, and #$#!!@@!! that disconnect hurts. Regardless of our individual beliefs, we all hanker to feel connected and complete. This state of oneness is who we innately are. Maintaining our integrity is necessary to fortify this sense of unified connection. Because, as romantic as it sounds, no one can complete us. We all must complete ourselves. Now, having integrity does not mean we will be immune to feeling hurt or falling into despair. It means we will never feel so separated by the fear, shame, or denial of who we are that we block the lifegiving flow of our divine connection; ending up so lost in the wilderness, we forget our true path. Because, it’s easier to protect our integrity than it is to recover the damage once we have lost it.

So, what is integrity in terms of our daily actions? Well, the result of ignoring our integrity, or our whole commitment to our choice values and earnest inspiration, tends to creep up in the following ways: We can’t sleep when we are running through what we said which is contrary to our chosen beliefs. We agonize over what might happen if someone knew about something we did which doesn’t quite align with who we want to be. We drain ourselves of our own health or life’s goals trying to appease everyone else. Our pride overcompensates because we can’t graciously handle admitting our mistakes. On the other hand, when our words are whole and our actions whole, our peace is whole. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light, Matthew 6:22.

What does it mean to suggest our words and actions can be whole? Life is laden with unfairness, conflict, rejection, injustice, bullying, shaming, to name a few. Hence, it is often easier to deny our values and our inspiration in daily interactions; in choosing a job at a company not aligned with our principles, in denying a spiritual belief when mingling with certain audiences, or in talking behind a colleague’s back rather than speaking directly to them about a situation. Likewise, it’s easier to deny parts of ourselves when we take out the wounds of our undealt anger on family members –behind closed doors— as long as a mask of politeness ensues when we step out of the home into a public building. It’s easier to compartmentalize our behaviors in order to feel better, like being neat in one place and careless elsewhere –depending on whose job it is to clean that place. However, when our heart is whole and singular in purpose, we have dealt with the inner wounds and maintain the same verdant speech, efforts, behaviors, and actions to uplift the world here, there, . . . everywhere. Our beliefs, morals, and character do not change according to our audience. When the heart’s integrity is sound, the heart of one’s soul treats his/her family and his/her coworkers and neighbors with equal respect and unwavering adherence to fair and loving conduct. This soundness of being true to the ideal version of ourself never sabotages what is meant for us. It creates flow and accountability, which boomerangs back to us in opportunities, true connections, and a sense of power over our life. Our commitment to our Higher Self is the precursor to having everything it is our soul yearns for to feel complete.

Therefore –whether we are spiritual, religious, or agnostic— we all, on some level, have an inner compass and a desire for connection. This is a powerful empathizing agent which unifies us as siblings of the human race. When we betray this compass, by making a small exaggeration, deflecting accountability, or consistently putting others’ wants above our own and aspiring to expectations and praise outside us, rather than the inspiration within us –our compass slowly moves from true north to northwest or northeast. And, if we don’t get our steps recalibrated to true north, we may end up far outside the destination our own heart was leading us to. What many fail to recognize is, integrity is not about honoring a fickle society to stay unblemished. In fact, society will condemn us and criticize us whether we follow them like a groupie or we choose our own unique path. On the contrary, integrity is knowing: I am committed to my own values and my values do not need to step on anyone, coerce anyone, cut corners, exaggerate, shame others, bear false witness, or diminish my own prodigious worth to improve my life. This singular commitment to one’s ideals is the only commitment which will ever imbue us with a clean conscience and a jubilant peace beyond anything society can ever grant.

So, just as the most glistening and beautiful diamonds are formed as a direct result of immense pressure, when we hold fast to the gleam of our integrity, the flames of a volatile world can attempt to burn us –but we will only shine brighter. This is because integrity is an authentic source of power. How is it authentic and why is that empowering? It is authentic because it is born entirely from within, and therefore, not dependent upon anything outside us. How is it powerful? When a house, a country, or our mind’s eye is undivided, nothing can scatter or fragment the energy in multiple directions. Nothing can remain hidden in the shadows and subtract from the effulgence of light radiating outward. Nothing can detain us from our life’s magnum opus, regardless of how grand or humble. Nor can anything obscure the decisiveness of what to do in any situation. Nothing can undermine the harmony, luminosity, and love of fruit produced from integral seeds.

Lastly, integrity is of great value because it also our roadmap home. Since the blueprint of our entire life is not known to our conscious mind, we can trust the light of our integrity to guide us through the mist . . . keeping us on the high road towards our soul’s highest good. It’s very difficult to get lost in an ominous sea of shame and popular opinion if we never let go of our commitment to acting in a way our Higher Self would admire, even when we know no one is looking. The intelligent universe is always on and somewhere every act is recorded, if not in the stars, surely in the holographic cells of our own heart.

In conclusion, I would like to remind us: We are all fragmented in some way, because having an ego is a byproduct of living on planet Earth. Therefore, before we shame another, let us see the cracks in our own integrity. More often than not, the flaw we see in another sheds light on the exact form of empathy we must garner to seal the cracks within ourself.