Congruence is beautiful. Form and order your thoughts. Fix your beliefs and test. Set forth words and speak. Act in accord.
Can these be ordered differently? Which comes first? Do you believe and then act? Or, do you begin acting, form a habit and begin to believe? What of your speech? Do you believe and then speak? Or share your ideas and then begin to believe? What if they are mismatched? Can they be mismatched?
I will argue that a beautiful life is in one accord throughout each of these areas regardless of their order. When mismatched, character is weakened.
Hypocrisy is ugly. Speaking one way and acting another is dishonest. We dislike what is dishonest and love what is true. You say you love but make no sacrifice. You show no respect. You hurt on purpose. This is not love. You lie. What of the opposite? You say you don’t love me, but you take out the trash, wash my feet and care for me in sickness. Do you actually love? I suggest you do. But still, you lie. Your words are inconsistent. Why?
Can you believe one thing and say another? Can you say you love but actually not? Sure. Your words can be hollow. What if your actions demonstrate love? Can your beliefs be seen by your actions? Sure. Is this good? Is this pure? Is this congruent and beautiful? Clearly, not.
Why do I write about love and congruency on an investment partnership blog?
I aim for our partnership to invest resources according to our beliefs. We believe. We act. If we say we will, we will (act.) If we act, we should believe. I suppose, I want to say plainly that our intention is to act in accord with our beliefs. If we act, it should be with purpose toward our belief. We should throttle our words to match our actions. We strive to be consistent in mind, body and word.
We do fail at times. I told an attorney I did not want her to give away something of value for nothing in return. However, I did give her full authority of the items. She gave them away for nothing. I was made to be a liar. My action was incongruent with my words. My spoken request was with sound reason and clear: I aimed to restrict my resources. However, my action was without restriction. Thus, it was me who was inconsistent. How is that? Well, she asked for everything and made no promises. She would do what she willed. I was the fool who said one thing but acted another. Shame on me.
I see failure in myself all the time. It is sad. I also see failure in others. People say they desire quality but act according to price. People desire liberty but subject themselves to employment. We are an inconsistent people.
Virtue abides in truth. Unity in belief, word and action is true and good. We should pursue these things. If I believe we should pursue such things, publish them, should we not act on them?