Integrity is Sexy (So is Silly, Honest & Kind; Litter is Not)

Recently a friend and I hiked to the top of majestic Council Rock where, legend says, Lenape used to hold meetings.  I think the face of it looks like one of these ancestors.  Whether or not it's true, what's true to me is that it feels like sacred space.  Except for the litter.  It drives me crazy, my friend too.  I picked up a lone orange lid and some paper which my friend then took to the trashcan only twenty feet away.  We then sat on Council Rock until our rumbling stomachs told us it was time to fix lunch.  But we parted in different directions purposefully. 
Before the climb, we had each picked a word to use with walking mediation for the return trip.  I had picked "integrity" and grumbled about it.  My friend said, "integrity is sexy," and the phrase stuck with me. Because we were returning in silence, we each chose a different path.  I decided to go back the way that we had come which meant I would need to boulder down and hold on to tree roots.  I was especially ill-prepared, wearing dress boots with no grip to counter the slippery leaves.  Also, I found more trash at the start of my climb down.  Because I needed my hands free, I had to throw the trash a few feet in front of me and keep doing that all the way down.  I had to laugh at how "unsexy" this must have looked to nearby hikers, but I didn't care because "integrity is sexy" was playing over and over in my head.
After journaling about this experience the next day, I picked a postcard from A BOOK THAT TAKES ITS TIME, An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness by Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst.  The decorative side of it said "Be silly, be honest, be kind."  This seemed to fit the walking meditation experience perfectly! It will also be something I know I will come back to at some point in my journal which is good, because it's not easy to pull off, "Be silly, be honest, be kind."         
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  Consider the word "litter," literally and figuratively.  Which one defines the state you are in today?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).