Have you ever wondered which kind of integrity should win, which part of your nature or your ethics you should succumb to? Are you what you do or what you want to do?
It’s sort of a non-statement when you think of it. When are you not being (yourself)? Maybe when you are acting in a play. I would accept that excuse, though. Example:
Patrick: I can’t believe you threw a pie in my face!
Natasha: But we were acting in a play.
Those who are taught to be co-dependent obedient “good girl/boys” from a young age have to *learn* to be themselves because they spent their entire lives being whatever Mummy/Daddy/teacher/friend/whoever wanted. I was never really fully myself until about age 35. I was shocked when a dear friend and professional counsellor asked me how I saw my self-image, and I heard myself describe myself as a mirror, reflecting the open sky with clouds passing across it. (She was shocked too). This meant I had no image of “me” except as a reflection of whoever was with me.
I have since learned to set boundaries and say “no” when I need to. (The first time I did it, I had a strong physical reaction; felt like I was going to die!) Other people say no to me all the time, and I survive…so it’s OK to put my foot down on occasion.
And I’ve made a discovery: I like myself very much. I’m actually pretty cool.
I think integrity involves both keeping one’s word and using words that are simultaneously true and open to responses from others. But it’s hard to define. I know it when I see it. I know what it means to lose it.
In the play example above it seems Patrick didn’t know he was playing until after being hit in the face (unless the example is a piece of meta-theatre). Trust is possible if both actors have recourse to another context: Patrick knows from long experience that Natasha would never wish him or herself real harm.
Is being compulsive in any way authentic? If history grabs me by the neck and takes me from behind, I might break any number of hearts. If my painful cries are beautiful to listen to, has the violence been redeemed? Are all compulsions equal?
Perhaps integrity is the process of desiring in the context of a healthy body and community.
Is that a bird on that balloon? Those colourful rectangles are pleasant and hopeful.
I go through this often because I see it as the ‘bigger person’ ideal. When is enough enough? When someone else starts it, how many times are you supposed to be the ‘bigger person’ and let it go? When you do you get to stay angry? When do you get to have someone apologize to you?
Idealists such as myself may say “To hell with excuses! If I can be something better, something that would fit more frames easily, something that, uh, feels the need to apologise less, than I will simply change into this something.”
We must not forget the biological limitation set upon us by our very being. As babylon towers crumble around us, humanity should remember it cannot transcend by brute force. And thus, we will always have borders, stopping us from becoming ‘better’ in the sense of bothering less people with our presence.
And yet, personal improvement does in fact include making the above decision. Still, I cannot help but wonder, what if we are simply turning the same ball at an angle not seen before?
If that is the case, then one need to pick the side of the ball they like, and stick to it.
You cannot imagine how strange it was to wake up the morning after sleeping with your best friend, get online to check up on some of your favorite webcomics, and see this. I realize it’s not necessarily something like that that you’re talking about, but it was bizarre nonetheless.
This is probably the most beautiful, subtle and effective webcomic or even graphical/lyrical construct I have ever been exposed to. There is just something about it that strikes me to the core with a truth that reverberates like a tuning fork at just the right pitch to resonate a glass so completely and profoundly that it shatters.
I love the simplicity of lines of the bird and the balloons. I love the color choices. The pastel warmth of the color pallet is hauntingly calm. I love the anticipation of the action to follow. I love the simplicity and elegance of the text.
For me…it just works. Nothing about it can or should be altered. It is now a part of me as a perfect thing. (I have five others…and two involve psilocybian)
It seems like being ‘yourself’ in this case and in many is shorthand for placing importance on the things you want and need and acting accordingly, particularly self-expression.
I always thought the “I’m just being myself” argument was a weak excuse for acting immature.
It’s sort of a non-statement when you think of it. When are you not being (yourself)? Maybe when you are acting in a play. I would accept that excuse, though. Example:
Patrick: I can’t believe you threw a pie in my face!
Natasha: But we were acting in a play.
Haahaahaa. I’m totally gonna start using that one.
Those who are taught to be co-dependent obedient “good girl/boys” from a young age have to *learn* to be themselves because they spent their entire lives being whatever Mummy/Daddy/teacher/friend/whoever wanted. I was never really fully myself until about age 35. I was shocked when a dear friend and professional counsellor asked me how I saw my self-image, and I heard myself describe myself as a mirror, reflecting the open sky with clouds passing across it. (She was shocked too). This meant I had no image of “me” except as a reflection of whoever was with me.
I have since learned to set boundaries and say “no” when I need to. (The first time I did it, I had a strong physical reaction; felt like I was going to die!) Other people say no to me all the time, and I survive…so it’s OK to put my foot down on occasion.
And I’ve made a discovery: I like myself very much. I’m actually pretty cool.
I think integrity involves both keeping one’s word and using words that are simultaneously true and open to responses from others. But it’s hard to define. I know it when I see it. I know what it means to lose it.
In the play example above it seems Patrick didn’t know he was playing until after being hit in the face (unless the example is a piece of meta-theatre). Trust is possible if both actors have recourse to another context: Patrick knows from long experience that Natasha would never wish him or herself real harm.
Is being compulsive in any way authentic? If history grabs me by the neck and takes me from behind, I might break any number of hearts. If my painful cries are beautiful to listen to, has the violence been redeemed? Are all compulsions equal?
Perhaps integrity is the process of desiring in the context of a healthy body and community.
Is that a bird on that balloon? Those colourful rectangles are pleasant and hopeful.
I go through this often because I see it as the ‘bigger person’ ideal. When is enough enough? When someone else starts it, how many times are you supposed to be the ‘bigger person’ and let it go? When you do you get to stay angry? When do you get to have someone apologize to you?
Idealists such as myself may say “To hell with excuses! If I can be something better, something that would fit more frames easily, something that, uh, feels the need to apologise less, than I will simply change into this something.”
We must not forget the biological limitation set upon us by our very being. As babylon towers crumble around us, humanity should remember it cannot transcend by brute force. And thus, we will always have borders, stopping us from becoming ‘better’ in the sense of bothering less people with our presence.
And yet, personal improvement does in fact include making the above decision. Still, I cannot help but wonder, what if we are simply turning the same ball at an angle not seen before?
If that is the case, then one need to pick the side of the ball they like, and stick to it.
You cannot imagine how strange it was to wake up the morning after sleeping with your best friend, get online to check up on some of your favorite webcomics, and see this. I realize it’s not necessarily something like that that you’re talking about, but it was bizarre nonetheless.
This is probably the most beautiful, subtle and effective webcomic or even graphical/lyrical construct I have ever been exposed to. There is just something about it that strikes me to the core with a truth that reverberates like a tuning fork at just the right pitch to resonate a glass so completely and profoundly that it shatters.
I love the simplicity of lines of the bird and the balloons. I love the color choices. The pastel warmth of the color pallet is hauntingly calm. I love the anticipation of the action to follow. I love the simplicity and elegance of the text.
For me…it just works. Nothing about it can or should be altered. It is now a part of me as a perfect thing. (I have five others…and two involve psilocybian)
Well, done.
Thanks for this!
It seems like being ‘yourself’ in this case and in many is shorthand for placing importance on the things you want and need and acting accordingly, particularly self-expression.