Time for the Swami Again: Integrity!

Hey you. It's Monday, and I've spent the day painting our living room. So now it is time to unwind with a post about the "Ity" of the week.
And the subject is a good one; one dear to my heart.

How many people do you know that have this quality?

Perhaps I have told you before, but I am very like Mr Darcy. My good opinion once lost, has been lost forever. And there is nothing that will affect my good opinion as much as integrity. And if you have lost your integrity in my eyes, boy, are you in trouble. It is not a very attractive trait of mine...But I cannot help it.

Like all felines, I have claws...

On the other hand, if you show integrity, you have my admiration for all time. 

Some people have this inner strength that helps them to steer a straight course, always, no matter what others say or do. It's a pity that many of us are governed by politicians who should have integrity, but haven't got it...

All we ordinary people can do, is strive for truthfulness and an inner compass that shows us the way. And to look to examples that history has shown us to be worth following.

Veracity - the 6th "ity"

I've come to the sixth in this series of 18 thought up by the Swami. And it is a tough one, in more ways than one.

When you swear in a court of law, in most countries you say something like: " I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth".

But do you in real life? How many times a day do you enhance a story just this tiny bit, so that it is a little more glamorous, or exciting, or believable, or palatable?

Veracity is a seldom used word in ordinary conversations.  I've yet to meet the person who says: "And what's the veracity of that?" 

If you look it up in Wikipedia (and I have) there is no page for it; you get directed to the page for honesty instead, and this is only a couple of paragraphs long.

One of the nicest quotes I could find about veracity is by Margaret Mitchell, the lauded writer of Gone With the Wind (does anyone still read this in 2014?):

"The liar was the hottest to defend his veracity, the coward his courage, the ill-bred his gentlemanliness, and the cad his honor" 

I suppose it translates best as 'truthfulness'. To others, but also to yourself.

Quite a feat, to be true to yourself. True to your beliefs and convictions. Far easier to let yourself be swayed and persuaded by others. It makes life less strained. 

Be true, truthful and tell the truth.

Far easier to lie convincingly when they ask you if you have seen the fish.

Today we Dutchmen had the chance to vote in the European elections. I wonder how many of my countrymen and countrywomen stayed true to their beliefs.