Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.

The aesthetic of revolution.

The aesthetic of revolution. The mask of change. Saying the right things, using the popular words. You know what they are. Language dressed in disruption. Words that sound like courage, but cost nothing. Hiding inside the bandwagon, riding it as long as it’s easy. Ready to jump off as soon as it gets hard.

Where is the revolution in our life? What are we really doing differently?
What are we giving up for change? What is the revolution costing us?

Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.

We play with the fringes of what's popular, desiring proximity to it, but never wanting to actually do something that will inconvenience us. Never making a choice that will cost us something.

Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.

Not when the camera’s on, the caption is perfect, not when our story slide is curated to look ‘authentic’. Who are we when the lights are off? What do we choose to do when there is no applause and no gain from doing the right thing?

Our beliefs are always tested when we are called to action, when we have choices to make.

They are nothing but cute sounding words until we have to choose. Until we have to act on what we say we believe and align with who we say we are.

Our words don’t reflect our beliefs - our choices do.

Where we shop.
How we love.
Who we support.
When to speak out.
Who we vote for.
What we give up.
What we choose to ignore.

Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.

We say we want liberation, but we don’t want to lose anything. We say we want justice, but we are not willing to say no to the unjust thing that benefits us.

We want the crown of truth, the glory of morality, without the cross of integrity.

Beyond what we post on social media, I am interested in the choices we make. In the life we live in the dark, not in the spotlight. Revolution lives in our actions. Integrity lives in our actions, not in our words. Revolution lives in the mundane, quiet choices. Revolution is not glamorous, she isn’t cute, she is costly. She lives in that unsexy word: sacrifice.

I want to know where our money goes. And who we accept money from.
Who we collaborate with. Who we choose to platform. What we say yes to when no one’s watching. Because too many of us use words we are not living in. Too many flirt with change but won't commit to it.

Are we aligned with who we say we are? Talk is cheap, someone famous said that I am sure. It’s easy to talk about change while living a life of quiet compliance. Our proximity to power, ease and money won’t be our saviour. Who will say no when it matters? Who will choose discomfort if it means being in integrity? (which is almost never comfortable)

Integrity is who you are when no one is looking.

Integrity has a price. Always. Relationships, opportunities, income, safety, status, aesthetic, reputation, lifestyle, connections, privileges. What is our integrity costing us?
If the answer is ‘nothing’ we’re no revolutionaries. If we’re still comfortable, if we haven’t lost anything, our revolution is hot breath.


We can’t speak about integrity without also speaking about privilege. The more you have of the latter, the less you will actually pay for being in integrity. Yet those with more privilege are less likely to align with their words. If they even have the words to begin with. More people with less privilege act on their integrity and pay a higher price for it.

Have we identified the privileges we have? Are we willing to use them? Are we willing to pay the necessary price to be in integrity?

We all contradict ourselves from time to time. We are not perfect. We are all hypocrites, but not all hypocrisy is the same. Some are facing their image in the mirror every day. Some are willing to be disturbed and challenged. Some are choosing alignment over and over again, because not choosing it would mean looking at a clown in the mirror. It would mean wanting to jump out of their skin. Some choose to move past the performance every day. Some choose the inconvenient. Some choose to pay the price because their heart just won’t let them do otherwise.

Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.

The world doesn’t change because we are perfect, it changes because we are willing to pay the price of integrity, to hold the line, even and especially when it costs us.