Integrity: Righteousness and Knowing
The basis of my own integrity
Is my commitment to what is true and right.
I admit that in life’s complexity,
It’s never completely in sight.
Large issues are not black and white!
Yet some say that nothing is right or wrong:
That it all depends on a person’s perspective.
Saying, it’s helpful if we’re able to “get along”
While each of us follows our own objective,
Emphasizing what proves “effective”.
Here, the case for community can well be made -
That what serves the one is drawn from the whole,
Through mindful detachment; through honest trade . . .
Yet, these aren’t the constraints by which everyone rolls,
Nor the most direct methods for reaching a goal!
I think of how nature has run its course
Without the necessity for a drawn-out plan!
Yet the interaction of various forces
Creates some balance in its slow-changing spans,
And diversity branching from where life began.
We might say, “It’s all good” from that cosmic view,
But not for a group or an individual
Where life’s limitations ring all too true;
Where we struggle to determine what values will rule,
To say “It’s all good” is both shallow and cruel!
We gain a concept of bad and good
From what makes a pleasing combination.
We imagine things happen the way they should
When they meet a reasonable expectation,
Or when there’s a plausible explanation.
To engage with life, we must be aware:
Must make distinctions, both sharp and broad;
Must recognize how space is shared;
That both nature and cultures must follow their laws,
And there are many elements in every cause.
Then, in setting out to secure success,
We must begin with a dream,
But to fashion it is a process,
And rarely a singular scheme:
Things are never quite what they may seem!
As we live, we acquire understanding
Of what nurtures social and personal health;
The part we would play through our social standing;
Our strengths, our weakness; our pathways to wealth;
The dimensions through which we may find the Self.
For that, a person must aim to be true
To a basic sense of what’s right, and their knowing,
Which determines what they will choose to do
To live with others, and to keep on growing:
Secure in their roots and in where they are going.
Whatever our intent or position,
We have got to acquire the relevant facts
By which we can make an effective decision
About whether and how we need to act,
And it’s oft got to be exact!
And in every group, there are social norms
That define a process, or a standard, to which all agree:
So a dance can take place in it’s proper form,
Or production can work with consistency,
Or music be played in its harmony.
Some things in life are arbitrary:
Someone in charge makes eccentric demands.
Eccentric ideas become customary
We know that it’s not in our hands.
We must choose where to take our stand,
Especially since there are higher principles:
Like, the path of love, and the path of what’s just.
They may be described in poems and symbols,
In one’s Faith, or a quality in which we can trust,
Which we choose when we sense that we must!
In our knowings, we must know our main concerns.
There will always be subjective and objective elements.
What’s at stake-and-for-who? What’s needed to learn?
What foresight have we, and what defense?
What grounding to give us our confidence?
What’s right and wrong will not always be clear,
But we have principles to guide us into being aligned,
So when conflicts arise - and they’re sure to appear,
We can respond with a soundness of heart and mind,
And not just react as we may be inclined!
Life will always test our metal.
What’s our price and our standard for “getting along”?
It doesn’t set well when we always settle,
So we need to take courage; We gotta be strong
When we know that there’s something wrong!
Yes - there is value, and a time for toleration.
It’s not wise to jump to a quick conclusion,
But there’s limits to the gains of investigation:
When it seems we’re involved in unwholesome collusion,
I don’t want to remain in a place of confusion!
There are always going to be consequences
From taking the byways where we’ve chosen to go.
Sometimes, it will make a difference
What we think and what we actually know.
My higher I-deal is where I must flow!
