Word

About a year ago, I was talking with a new friend about our work and our lives. She shared with me that she tries to live by The Four Agreements. At that time, I had never heard of them, so I googled it (I’ll let you do that too). The four statements struck a chord with me but didn’t fully take root in my mind. Recently, my son brought over a box of books that he had previously borrowed. In it was Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements. It wasn’t mine, but it seemed to show up at an opportune time.

This week I have been reflecting on the first agreement: Be Impeccable with your Word. Impeccable means faultless, without flaw or blame. In its original translation, it means without sin. The other significant part of the agreement is “word”. Historically, this has meant much more than a grouping of letters. It represents one’s integrity and essence. If I give my word, I am committing myself fully. Ruiz explains this agreement this way:

“Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”

Personally, I have been convicted on how often I have not been impeccable with my conversations and intentions in my lifetime. I have hurt others, I have sought to undermine some people, and I have damaged relationships by choosing to attack and minimize others with my words. I don’t want to live my life that way going forward. Instead, I desire to be more dedicated to living this first agreement.

We each have the power to uplift and encourage or demoralize and destroy. We can commit to be impeccable with our word. There will be times when we fail to live up to this standard. However, each day we awake, we can strive to start again to live within our integrity in our interactions with each other. Let’s be people of our word.