Integrity

I have been really down this month. It should be a happy month, I think of the good things February has brought to our lives. Valentines day, Presidents day, Black History month. Then there is politics. Lots of debates, primary elections, political ads, shootings, and many illegal activities. What has gotten into the people of this country, world? Everywhere there is anger, hurt, disrespect, and feelings of “I want mine. I don’t care about yours.

I think we are losing our feelings of integrity. What is integrity? Here are seven aspects of Integrity.     

1. Honesty 

2. Respect

3. Generating trust  

4. Pride

5. Responsibility 

6. Keeping promises

7. Helping others.

On the Internet today I found this poem by Michael Josephson

WHAT WILL MATTER by Michael Josephson (c) 2003WhatWillMatter.com

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.  So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built; not what you got but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone. What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what. Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.

How is your Integrity doing? What can we do to improve?