Integrity

"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson's mind is a mind I have always admired.  His way with words.  His wisdom.  His words stretch me, like the quote above.  This quote is from his Self Reliance essay, and he may have been emphasizing the power our minds (our thoughts) have over our destiny.  Buddha and others have said similar things; that we benefit from controlling our thoughts.  One definition from the American Heritage Dictionary for integrity is purity.  How can we keep our minds pure?  One way is to avoid negativity in any form:   negative self talk, gossip, judgment, fear, limiting thoughts.  I wonder how much different our world would be were everyone to strive to think only thoughts that contained the highest and best for themselves and each other.  Perhaps you and I can start an experiment and see how different our own worlds become from that practice.  I am willing.  Are you?