I learnt a big lesson tonight in the midst of fast and furious conversations between myself and two other friends. We skyped each other and discussed the perceptions of writing in fiction and non-fiction, fact versus non-facts.

I am vividly reminded of the saying: “Integrity can be compared to a great smoothie. It consists of many healthy and tasteful virtues such as discernment, loyalty, courage, honesty, and humility all mixed together to form one outstanding quality. Not only is it rewarding in the end, but the act of striving for it is well worth the effort.” <Unknown Author>

I agree- when I held on to my principles of choosing integrity instead of going with what the crowd did, I felt good and at peace with myself. I did not have to struggle with aligning myself with the situation at hand and with my values and principles. I did not have to struggle to make that difficult choice and trying to ’see it in another way.’ Integrity remained integrity for me – it could not and would not change based on my own experience and perception. It may not be integrity to some other people but when I choose to live by my own life standards, it was not hard to be firm when the crunch came about. 

For some people, it was easy to ‘get about’ the perception of truth versus non-truth. There is no right and wrong and I believe it’s just that we each have different values and principles we hold onto as the day passes. The question is: to what degree will you hold on to them and are you willing to exchange them for something else? My answer is clearly NO, although some other people might not see it the same way as I do. 

Regardless, the world has a place for each of us – more than enough space. Why compete with others on rights, wrongs, truth, untruths etc. I think my energy is better spent being aware and acting on living my life with as much congruency as possible. Tough but absolutely rewarding. What about you – do you think you have integrity and does your degree of holding on to it change from situation to situation? How do you define it?

By the way, I love smoothies – and the next time I have one – I will be reminded of what integrity means to me in this lifetime. 

With integrity.