So, seeing with clarity sort of demands a response…meaning you’re not supposed to keep it to yourself. In the last post, I challenged us all to change the culture, to be instruments of love and goodness in the world. In order to do that, we have to change the way we’ve learned to see things…you know, those short-cuts our brains have learned to take after a prolonged pattern of use (often times negative thinking). In order to use our perspective to share the love and goodness we see in the world, it is easiest to start with those we know intimately. It is important to look beyond the obvious, beyond the flaws, beyond the stuff that drives us crazy toward learning to see the goodness first and foremost. Not everyone wears their gifts obviously like a placard. The power of perspective is magnified when we take a moment to share to the world things that lie beneath the surface in a deeper place, and then sharing that goodness for everyone to see. When goodness comes first those more negative pathways begin to dissipate.

I know how I’ve shared how the men in my life can be challenging sometimes…hence the description of my house as crazy town. But they are also men of deep integrity too. I think an apt headstone epitaph for all three of them should include this phrase: If you had integrity, and a full refrigerator…they called you friend. That sense of integrity shows up differently for all three of them. My husband Steve will do everything in his power to help people have optimum health in their lives. He is passionate about understanding and improving health and will never take short cuts. For my eldest son, he is as passionate about developing technology that will help and not hurt the world, he is open and accepting of all people. My youngest son, has the often unspoken power of an athlete that can transform his sport simply by consistent honorable action. He is a true solid and loyal friend. They have taught me that integrity is often one of those qualities that isn’t always seen by the naked eye, but must be observed over a long period of time to appreciate the consistency and truth of it. As for the source of it, they are all men of God, and while they may understand faith differently, the expression of it is simple and consistent.

So the goodness I share today is integrity. Amidst the craziness I see, truth and fairness and loyalty. It is from seeing it in the men in crazy town, that I work hard to see it in the larger world too