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Your Integrity and World Peace
It’s time to legitimately
acknowledge the necessity of integrity in our personal lives. However,
the task of consistently making choices born of integrity presents
a formidable challenge. Integrity and ethics are endlessly disputed,
as we witness how the absence of personal integrity manifests itself
in a violent global climate. If you’re seeking an individual
way to improve our current situation, become confident that you
can make choices with global impact—your integrity and world
peace are inexorably linked. Find out how your quest for integrity
and personal peace will better the entire world.
You don’t have
to look long at current headlines to see that the absence of personal
integrity is impacting our global and domestic situation. Decisions
made without integrity and ethics are damaging and destroying our
fellow human beings along with the environment. From the impact of
corporate dishonesty and accusations of our politicians’ questionable
pasts, to reports of atrocities in Iraq, we are bombarded with themes
of corruption. Integrity’s absence doesn’t end in flashy
news stories, however. If you’ve made important personal decisions
without making integrity a priority, you have denied yourself a
chance at lasting happiness, since integrity and personal peace are
inseparable. These personal decisions also have a broader, world
impact as well—consider how your choices hurt others or support
others. Do understand that, regardless of past choices, the birth
of integrity is a regenerative process—you have an unlimited
opportunity to begin applying integrity to all present and future
actions. That choice will affect the world—while
most of us aren’t in a position of direct power to alter vital
policy and end the conflict between integrity and war, you must
believe that your commitment to personal integrity is a vital factor
for our civilization to thrive. Whether at home or in making ethical
corporate decisions, when each member of our society chooses personal
integrity as their guiding force, we will move toward a liberated
and just world that honors each individual. Hence, cruelty and oppression
will dissipate. So really consider how you can live a life
of integrity. The personal and global reward will be among the most
precious gifts in your life.
Think of several decisions you’ve
made in your life and what motivated you: were you influenced by
a parent’s expectations? Did society’s ideal of the
"right thing to do" play a role? Perhaps you were greedy
or selfish. Or did you act out of a true conviction consistent with
your moral standards? Now evaluate the long-term outcome of those
decisions. If your motivation came from the first three sources,
you likely feel discomfort, guilt, or disappointment. You may be
stuck in an inappropriate job, trying to make the wrong relationship
work, or enjoying success at another’s expense. However, when
you focus making choices born of integrity, you will feel a sense
of soundness and confidence in that decision. In other words, you
have found the makings of inner peace and the beginnings of the
payoff of integrity. This action is an honorable one—a lasting
honorable impact on you and others thanks to its integrity.
As you acknowledge the necessity
of integrity, bear in mind that this level of conviction requires
tremendous courage. Integrity and fear are often linked in this
manner. In being true to yourself, you’ll often find that
those around you don’t understand and support your position.
As well, extreme cases will confront rules and regulations you’re
expected to follow. Take for example, the recent news from Iraq where
an 18-soldier fuel convoy refused to carry out orders due to safety
concerns. They recognized that their vehicles, being neither bulletproof
nor fast, would make them highly vulnerable in hostile territory.
At the time of the decision, the soldiers were subjecting themselves
to the possibility of serious punishment, but acted according to
personal integrity that motivated them to stand up for themselves
in an unfair situation. Such challenging of superiors at any level
is a brave move, but so is the mark of a deeply honest relationship
with yourself—another component of integrity.
While many of our fellow citizens
are currently facing the dire reality of battle, your integrity
may not meet such dramatic daily challenges. However, if you seek
an inner peace that is unshakable regardless of outer circumstances,
and if you want to live centered on a passion for who you are, then
the growth of your integrity is central in your life. When we speak
of the "integrity" of a wilderness area, we’re
referring to a place that is pure—an intact ecosystem that
is uncorrupted by environmental changes. The same philosophy applies
to all degrees of integrity. It must remain intact to thrive. When
successful, it will grant you the completeness in spirit and action
that will inspire a life of honor, passion, and truth. Now think
of those three qualities and imagine the global impact of choices
born of integrity. Would we approach the world harmony you wish
for if our leaders made consistent choices born of integrity? Remember
that in your commitment to integrity. You may not feel that your
actions have direct global impact, but positive beliefs are
contagious. By making integrity a priority in all actions concerning
yourself and others, know that you are making a tremendous difference.
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