Palmetto at Inchydoney Island, Eire
Wednesday morning at the window
It has been a wonderfully busy week since I last blogged. Today is free of any appointments or chores - one for reflection. So, here goes.
Parker Palmer's book, A Hidden Wholeness - the Journey Toward an Undivided Life, contains a section entitled "Images of Integrity." That word, integrity, always sets off feelings of grandeur in my mind - how magnificent it would be to live with integrity. Perhaps I should put that word on my fridge for a while. What does integrity mean to me? Perfection. Values. Goodness. Right thinking. Right action. Purity. All lovely words and somehow beyond achieving but ideals for looking toward and living in pursuit of - even a single one of the words. The author cites Douglas Wood's words Jack pines....are not lumber trees [and they] won't win many beauty contests either. But to me this valiant old tree, solitary on its own rocky point, is as beautiful as a living thing can be .... In the calligraphy of its shape against the sky is written strength of character and perseverance, survival of wind, drought, cold, heat, disease....
In its silence it speaks of....wholeness....an integrity that comes from being what you are.
All those beautiful words I chose - are unattainable, yes, but perhaps easier to at least visualize and define than "what you are." As is often the case, now I'm right back where I've been for the last decade or so: Who am I?
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