On the Path: Integrity is Harmony
and Harmony is Integrity
Integrity.
What do you think of when you hear that word?
Does it create a bit of angst inside?
Like… “is someone questioning my integrity?” Or, “Uh oh… what didn’t I do now? What did I forget, or screw up, or miss this time?”
I don’t know about you, but that word DEFINITELY hits some of those triggers for me. I don’t think it’s bad, but it can cause me to judge myself for not measuring up, not being good enough, not getting enough done, or not doing the things I said I was going to do.
Last year, I was invited to participate in an elite mastermind coaching group called “All-Stars” that was composed of six “super coaches” led by Carolyn Freyer Jones and Steve Chandler. During one of the meetings we talked quite a lot about integrity. And I remember to this day the word we came up with as a possible alternative that might not conjure these sorts of negative judgments (I think
deserves the credit for this, or it might have been or ?)That word was Harmony.
Ooh… Now THAT’S a nice word!!
I remember experiencing the shift in an instant. My inner mental landscape around the word integrity was transformed, since the word harmony has a such a different feel to it. It’s something that pulls me toward it and elicits completely new, completely different mental imagery.
Like a perfectly timed and harmonized barbershop quartet.
Or when two instruments are so perfectly in tune that their vibrational frequency matches perfectly (aka. no beats… iykyk).
Seeing a formation of geese flying across the sky, or the hypnotic dance of a starling murmuration.
Going to an air show to see the US Navy’s Blue Angels in perfect formation, streaking across the sky, wingtip to wingtip.
And how about harmony in dance - like one of the incredible scenes, from Singin’ in the Rain when Donald O’Connor dances to “Make ‘em Laugh”, and does it in ONE take.
Harmony is also in nature - seeing the perfection in a conch shell, a rose, a butterfly, a tree, and a lotus flower.
Or listening to the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a piece that Beethoven never actually heard as he was deaf when he wrote it. And here it is, in another kind of harmony, performed by an orchestra and choir of 10,000 people.
Harmony is when Lionel Messi dances through an entire team of professional European soccer players without giving up the ball. Or when Michael Jordan… well, pretty much anything he did.
Harmony is also the beautiful “perfection” in a marriage between two people that has lasted 20, 30, 40+ years.
Harmony is something that touches, moves, and inspires us. Harmony pulls us TOWARD it, makes us stand up, get goosebumps, and pay attention more closely. It draws us in, makes us want to listen. Harmony is something I think we’d all agree that we could use more of in our lives.
So why not start?
Harmony IS integrity. Integrity IS harmony.
Imagine a world in which when you say something, it happens. That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which when you say something and it doesn’t happen, you own it, take responsibility for it, and clean it up. That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which when you schedule something, you allot the time you need before and after to ensure you’re on time and not rushed. That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which when you say you want something, and commit to getting it, you show up with discipline, consistency, and a willingness to do whatever it takes. That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which you could absolutely count yourself do what you said you’d do. That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which you could count on yourself to keep showing up, whether or not you felt like it? That’s harmony.
Imagine a world in which you didn’t have to keep track of the different versions of stories you told to different people because of your commitment to always telling the truth. That’s harmony.
Sure, you could put in your 10,000 hours like Messi, MJ, and the Blue Angeles (because that too IS harmony). But you could also just practice creating harmony in your life just as it is, without needing anyone else to do anything (for those of you in relationships)… by cleaning up many of the little things all around you that make your life (and your guitar) sound just slightly out of tune.
With Loving -
Andy
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Great stuff Andy. Love the shift in intention from integrity to harmony. Well done.
I love it Andy. Perhaps you created the word "harmony" as an alternative word for integrity. I love the words harmony, wholeness, coherence, integrity, resonance - as they occur as pointing towards wholeness and completeness.