My experiments with Integrity

Integrity - I first got introduced to the real life meaning of this word in The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, when back in college one of the teachers I admire a lot recommended that I read it. I was always considered to be a hard-headed idealistic person, often to the extent of being dogmatic. Then gradually I discovered the true me, or rather I should say the me that I would want to be - a person with integrity. I found out the difference between being dogmatic and having high levels of integrity. Over the years, I have tried my best to remain true to that image of myself. That is the singular most important thing that gives me satisfaction when I look straight into my eyes in the mirror and see the person behind them. There were times when I really questioned the worth in maintaining integrity as opposed to being retaliatory. There have been times when I ended up hurting those who care for me in the process of making sure that my integrity is not hurt. Whether this was right or wrong, is yet unknown to me and hence I call them my experiments with integrity (though I would be lying if I say that before I die I will be able to get some conclusions out of this experiment).
These are the days of extreme turbulence for my experiment. I like the little snippet on the cover page of the book titled integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud. It says "the courage to meet the demands of reality". The way I apply this to the context of my current situation is that no matter how ugly the reality becomes, no matter how bitter the world around me is, if I have the courage to face the facts and give real world sacrifices to preserve my integrity, only then will I have successfully completed one more phase of this experiment. Let us see.

P.S.: The reason I wrote this post is to use it as a place to get myself back on my feet when they are shaken off the ground by the turbulences I see approaching in the coming days.