Grabbing the Moments

I know last week I wrote about how we can give our integrity away.  This got me thinking about how it’s mostly moment by moment that we either live out our values, or not.  I think we imagine like in the movies it’s the grand gestures or epic behaviors for all to see.  Living out our integrity lies completely in the details, because it’s one thing to say how we want to be. It’s tested when the moments to do so show up.

It’s every time we decide how to behave.  Whether we act in a myopic fashion by worrying too much about the outcomes and what others would think, versus doing the right thing – at least to us – and daring to let go of being popular today.   It’s how we respond to others and how we treat them today, when perhaps there is no audience to applaud us when we hold onto our patience with a difficult toddler moment.  Or turn down an offer from someone to make money but in a way that could cause a conflict of interest.

It’s when we are faced with temptations to be selfish, to take the easier way out, to not admit fault, and to not honor what we say matters to us because it’s become too hard to do so at the moment.  It’s when we say we value our loved ones but become so busy we miss important times.

It’s the moments.  They add up in one direction toward feeling good about who we are – or the other way where we not only let others down, but ourselves as well. It takes some forethought and good boundaries to make time to do the right thing.  To be there to listen and care when they need us, and to show up and follow through when we said we would.

I think the great thing here is every moment we come across we get another chance to get it right.  The more times we can do this we start to see that It’s all the seemingly little things that add up to a good life.  The moments.