Integrity...

I was very blessed to share a friendship of eleven years with Miz Maddalee, who lived to the young age of 110 years.  At 100 years, she was still living in her own home, and mowing her yard with a push mower.  Miz Maddalee had been a school teacher for over 50 years, yet she never actually ceased teaching.

How we met is she came to hear Nora and I speak.  When she came up to meet us afterwards, we were as enchanted with her, as she said she was by us.  She was no longer driving by then and missed her bus, so I drove her home.  From that point, I visited her as often as I could.  What a fascinating lady she was!  Because she was born in 1876, she had so many stories to tell.  Yet it was her inspiring wisdom that especially touched me from her many years of living and teaching.

She told me besides the learning from books, the one thing she most tried to instill in her students, were the things not found in books.  Like integrity.  Each year Miz Mattalee gave her older students what she felt was the most important thing they could have, her "Integrity Speech."  Curious, I had her share it with me too, and now I will share it here because she gave me a copy of it...

First, integrity means honor.  If you have a horse for sale, you are honest about its soundness.  You don't go selling a horse who you know has had lameness and not tell this to the person buying your horse. 

Integrity is being true to yourself, so you are true to others.  That you are the same person with the downtrodden as you are with the rich.  When you are true to yourself, others take notice knowing you're true to all.

Integrity means not just having a conscience but one you listen to.  If you abide by your conscience, and you strive to do what is caring and good by it, others will know this and respect you for this.

Integrity means having the courage of your convictions, to hold onto what is right.  If you find a pocketbook or a wallet containing money, and you know who it belongs to, even if others press for keeping the money, you make sure all is returned to the one it belongs.  And if you don't know who it belongs to, you try to find who lost it.  What goes around comes around...you will be rewarded for having the integrity to do the right thing.

Integrity is having a sense of compassion to help, even if it involves risking your life to save another one.  Like if you see a child in the road about to get hit by a car, you rush in and save that child.  You will have the integrity of having a true caring heart.

Holding onto integrity makes you have confidence because you believe in yourself.  

Holding onto integrity makes you have the determination of not giving up...a sense of purpose.

Holding onto integrity means you will have friendships, trust, admiration, and respect, because you have lived to be the best you can be.

Not long before Miz Maddalee passed away at the age of 110, I talked to her on the phone.  She immediately recognized my voice, and was just as alert as she ever was.

She asked, "My child (everyone was 'my child' to her), do you still have the copy of my integrity piece I gave you years ago?"

"Yes, Miz Maddalee, I do."

"Good.  I want you to share it with others in the world, because I think the world needs it.  Would you?"

"Yes, Miz Maddalee, I will."

And I am.😃