That's where he comes in (that's where he steps in actually), not only brilliantly distinguishing that both being in integrity and being authentic aren't ends in and of themselves (around him, you actually rediscover them as ongoing, never-ending commitments), but he also vividly demonstrates what it looks like (and what it takes) to ongoingly generate being in integrity and being authentic as one's natural Self-expression. His is a stunning demonstration, a breath-taking tour de force. Whereas my natural tendency for being in integrity and being authentic, is to want to realize them as goals, his is to climb up to them, then continue climbing to points ever higher, never stopping at any point he reaches before climbing on, always in action. In any community of leaders who tout and espouse being in integrity and being authentic as the rudiments of being a leader (it's more than that actually: it's in this community of ours, we say that without being in integrity and without being authentic, you can forget about being a leader altogether), he's a pillar. Indeed, you could describe him as "the" pillar. But I've been around him for quite a while now. And I'll bet you good money he would say that's not as useful as describing him as "a" pillar. If you say it that way, there's an opening for everyone in the community to be a pillar ie it becomes a possibility for everyone. And while it's true we're all pillars (or at least it's true we each have the potential to be a pillar), it's crucially important for me (as a matter of my integrity) to acknowledge him as source in the matter. That's why it works for me to call him "the" pillar of the community, and to assign the "a" pillar descriptor to what inexorably opens up for anyone who's around him. |
<aside>
Look: here's the thing about rushing to discredit this assertion (or any other transformational assertion, actually) with the off-handed "Oh, that's just semantics!": we now know it's all "just semantics" ie we now know all of it is constituted in language. But that's a subject for another conversation on another occasion. <un-aside> |
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