Imagine there was a template for living creatures. Not only humans, nor even only mammals, but also insects and all forms of moving, and even non-moving life forms.
Imagine that this template began, not with teeth, nails, skin colour, hair or tails, but with qualities such as courage, strength, honour and respect.
Imagine that these are the fundamental principles on which all Life is based. Imagine that any loss of those standards are received by all of Life as it resonates around the one or ones who infringed these principles through carelessness.
Let us extend these thoughts to include such things as promises, words, and treaties. All of which are nothing more than extensions of respect for those with whom these agreements are made.
All of these qualities may be grouped under the name Integrity.
A lack of integrity leads to loss of respect by all those around us.
Through loss of respect anything of value is lost. Neither heritage, nor family, nor friendship. None of these can be relied upon from those who stand by us when we have forsaken the communal, life given, principles which support and sustain Life.
Our security is gone through the crass actions or statements we have made. Life loses its values and the more this occurs, the more we take refuge in exaggerated actions, loud proclamations, raucous laughter, over-sentimental indulgence and all the other signs of drunkenness. We stand increasingly in fear of our own wrong doing and the results we see it brings us. As a result of this we become yet more exaggerated in our behaviour. We have lost the measure whereby we can gauge Life around us.
To stabilise the process it begins with keeping the word we have given. That way we begin to be recognised for some measure of integrity according to those values which we uphold.
Consider triangles. There are three types of triangle. The best of these is called One, it is the equilateral triangle. All of its sides are equal and all of the interior angles are equal. That is to say there is only one length of side and only one magnitude of angle, 60 degrees.
The second is called Two because it has sides of two different lengths. This results in angles of two different magnitudes. The angles at the base of the equal-length sides are the same but the angle opposite the base is of a different number of degrees. This triangle is called the Isosceles triangle.
The last is called Scalene with sides of three different lengths and resulting angles of three different magnitudes. Of these there are three types. This type of triangle is rightly called Three. The three types of Scalene triangle are those with acute angles, those with an obtuse angle, and finally the best of these is the right-angled triangle, as it most approximates order and regularity.
For the person who has lost their measure in the world, by keeping their word and carrying out the undertakings they promise, consistently, they begin to bring order into their lives. It may take a long time, in many cases it may take lifetimes, to gain control of the impulses within life again. But, by adopting an approach to integrity, order will slowly begin to impose itself upon the whimsical nature which has guided the individual formerly.
