Definitions: (1) carrying oneself with pride; (2) adhering to suitable rectitude

Synonyms: pure, upstanding
     Upright implies a strict adherence to decent principles; conscientious implies an active moral sense governing all one’s actions with a painstaking efforts to follow one’s conscience; honest stresses adherence to such virtues as truthfulness, candor, and fairness; honorable suggests a firm holding to codes of right behavior and the guidance of a high sense of decency and duty; just stresses conscious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable; scrupulous implies showing close attention to detail and applies to what is proper or fitting or ethical.

Quotes:
• The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over. — Aesop (c 620–564 BC) Greek fabulist
• It is only through seriousness of purpose and persistence that we ultimately carry the day. We might liken it to riding a bicycle. You stay upright and move forward so long as you keep up the momentum. — Ban Ki-moon (1944-) South Korean [eighth secretary-general of the United Nations]

Symbol: the qilin [similar to the unicorn, with two horns] (Chinese)

Definitions: (1) an emotional or spiritual exaltation; (2) a bettering of conditions; (3) bringing to a higher moral, cultural, intellectual, or spiritual level

Quotes:
• If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. — Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856 –1915) American author & orator
• Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting, and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something. — Ralph Fulsom “Red” Marston (1904-1967) American inspirational writer
• Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened your mindset can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak, one-second impulses to give in. Even if you’re feeling low and beat down by life right now, I guarantee you can think of a time or two when you overcame odds and tasted success. — David Goggins (1975-) American SEAL & ultra-marathoner

Definition: knowing what is in vogue in attitude or style; modern; able to see and set new trends

Quotes:
• Values are not trendy items that are casually traded in. — Ellen Goodman (1941-) American journalist
• The more up-to-date the information, the more valuable it is. — Katie Jacobs Stanton (1970-) American businesswoman

Definitions: (1) happy; optimistic; cheerful; (2) marked by an increase in activity; prosperous

Quotes:
• Being upbeat is the key to life. — David Paradine Frost (1939-2013) British television host
• In any walk of life, a positive, upbeat outlook trumps any adversarial act. Revenge is counterproductive. Unproductive emotions limit one’s ability to move forward, to focus, to think positively, to act creatively. — Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. (1960-) 16th Governor of Utah

Definition: determined; resolute; indefatigable, implacable

Quotes:
• Dare, dream, dance, smile, and sing loudly! And have faith that love is an unstoppable force! — Suzanne Brockmann (1960-) American writer
• God steps into the suffering with us, and He takes it on himself, and He walks through it with us, and He uses it to create something in you that is unstoppable. — Kirk Cameron (1970-) American actor

Definitions: (1) alert to opportunity; enterprising; (2) industriously successful; promising

Quotes:
• Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be. — Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) Lebanese-American artist and poet
• Put yourself in the position of an up-and-coming artist living in early-sixteenth-century Italy. Now imagine trying to distinguish yourself from the other artists living in your town: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, or Titian. — Jerry Saltz (1951-) American art critic
     Note: First of all: good luck; but also what astonishing inspiration!

Definitions: (1) existing as the only one or as the sole example; solitary in type or characteristics; (2) having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable; (3) singular; unusual; extraordinary; (3) singular; unusual; extraordinary; (4) inimitable <so good or unusual as to be impossible to imitate>; unorthodox

Quotes:
• When strangers meet, great allowance should be made for differences of custom and training. — Frank Patrick Herbert Jr. (1920-1986) Heretics of Dune {1984}
• If we live truly, we shall see truly – insist on yourself; never imitate – nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind, nothing can bring you peace but yourself, nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American poet

Poetry:
I am now who never was.
I am becoming who never was.
I am always unique.

Comment: Everybody is different; everyone needs something different.

Visualization: Each one of us is a seed beginning to grow into a unique plant in an infinite forest.

Observation: Parents soon see each of their children’s personalities as unique and wonderfully lovable.

Divine Definitions: (1) Knowledgeable; discerning; (2) The source of the power and ability to think and to know; intelligent judgment; (3) Friendly or harmonious relationship; an agreement in feeling; (4) Helpful in the adjusting of differences; (5) Fully aware of meanings and implications; (6) Patient and tolerant of growth; sympathetic

Comments:
• To understand is literally to stand under. In this way God is the one who supports all reality with His empathetic knowledge: omniscience.
• God is inscrutable, impossible to understand completely, but we can continuously discover more and more as we grow in grace.

UNDERSTAND
Human Definitions: (1) the power to think and learn; the ability to make sense; intelligent judgment; (2) comprehension of knowledge; discernment; (3) fully aware not only of the meaning or nature of something but also of its implications; (4) a friendly or harmonious relationship; an agreement of opinion or feeling; an adjustment of differences; (5) patient and tolerant of growth; sympathetic; (6) an exaltation of intellection

Poetry:
Knowledge, so full of itself, flies
beyond the cosmos, while Wisdom,
only as ancient as the earth, tries
to follow, but staggers and stumbles,
held back by the short-legged pace
of Understanding, still merely a child.
— Katherine Solomon (1944-) American poet

Sayings:
• First understand the basics.
• To understand all is to forgive all.

Proverb: Walk a mile in another person’s moccasins. — Native American
Note: This saying is encouraging us to see things from someone else’s perspective. Even though you will then be better able to see things how they see them, the common misunderstanding is that you will then agree with their point of view. As always, you will retain your own unique point of view. You cannot “become” the other person no matter how accurately you understand them. Knowing is not agreeing.

Dictum: They condemn what they do not understand. — Marcus Fabious Quintilian (35–100 AD) Roman educator

Quotes:
• It is good to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding. — Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) The Prophet {1923}
• Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. — Viktor Emil Frankl (1905-1997) Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, & Holocaust Survivor
• Master: In time, you will understand how.
  Student: And when I learn?
  Master: Then you will understand how much you have yet to learn.
— Warren Burton Murphy (1933-2015) & Molly Cochran (1949-) Grandmaster {1984}

Consideration: Oftentimes it is advisable to suspend your position to begin to understand someone else’s. If you can do both, you will be able to incorporate some of the other’s ideas, feelings, and sensibilities into your own. It is only fair to get a good idea of the other side, if for no other reason than to know where to draw the line.

Comment: When someone does or says something from out of left field, it is your left field you are referring to. It may be their pitcher’s mound.

Colors: indigo, yellow

Symbol: a silver key

Definitions: (1) placing confidence in; believing in the honesty, integrity, or justice of; relying on; (2) without fear of consequences; allowing exposure; open-hearted; confiding; (3) supposing and supporting something as accurate; (4) certain; sure; expectant; hopeful

Compatible Qualities: responsible, trustworthy

Too Far: gullible
Note: Be wise to the signs. Are you being played for a sap? If the person you trust is a real good liar, don’t beat yourself up for being taken in. Be true to your ideals. Give yourself credit, and learn from the experience.

Saying: In God we trust.

Quote: As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German polymath [eight disciplines]

Consideration: A blind person takes for granted the fact he or she occasionally needs to trust someone else; they need to put their faith in someone as a guide from time to time. Visualize a bicycle built for two; the person in front is sighted, the person in back is blind. They enjoy being together and they each play their part.
     Each person is sometimes a leader and sometimes a follower. We are all somewhat blind and somewhat sighted.

Observation: If you trust someone, you will find (or have found) in their actions reasons to trust them. At first, you may give them the benefit of the doubt.
     If you do not trust someone (including oneself) or if you have a suspicious nature, then even the most innocent actions will be clothed in negative scrutiny.

Comment: Trust is linked with expectations. If someone says, “I’ll pick you up at three,” and doesn’t show up until four, that person has set up and broken an expectation. The next time he or she makes a promise you may be less certain.

Symbol: freesia flowers

(TRUSTWORTHY)
Definitions: (1) worthy of confidence; dependable; (2) able to puts minds at ease; reliable; (3) forthright and multifaceted in difficult matters; straightforward

Quote: People judge you really quickly, at first just on your facial features. There are two dimensions – warmth and competence. You can think of them as trustworthiness and strength. They are first judging you on warmth; evaluating whether or not you are trustworthy. That’s much more important than whether or not you are competent. — Amy Joy Casselberry Cuddy (1972-) American social psychologist, author, & speaker

Comment: There are some things so continuously trustworthy we end up forgetting they exist or expecting them to always be there. Some that come to mind: gravity, God, beliefs, parents, job.
     Consistent qualities are growth, choice, change, and love.

Divine Definitions: (1) The dependable custodian of reality; (2) The assurance of tranquility; reliable; (3) The one who puts minds at ease; certainty; (4) The one who makes failure impossible; (5) The one who shelters souls; security; (6) The one who frees us from anxiety and doubt; safety; (7) Worthy to give our confidence to; (8) Forthright in dealing with His children; matter-of-fact; straightforward; (9) Receptive to prayers

Quote: It is so uncomplicated. Infinity has produced me. I am literally a child of the universe. Crafted by an unseen, loving hand. Today I walk the earth in this body; think with this mind. Tomorrow I shall slip from these vestments in cosmic nakedness, wrapped only in the character I have built. And I will speed, like a dawning thought, through the starry expanse of his creation to the galaxy, world, body, mind, and life that the Father-Infinite has ordained for me. Knowing his love for me, I shall go gladly, giving all of myself sincerely and trustingly. — Troy R. Bishop (~1943-2023)

Comment: A relationship based upon personal devotion (having the best interest of the other in mind) with a human partner or The Divine Parent, can only be had if it is founded on faith and trust. His trustworthiness is undeniable.

TRUST
Human Definitions: (1) placing confidence in; believing in the honesty, integrity, or justice of; reliability; (2) without fear of consequences; allowing exposure; open-hearted; confiding; (3) supposing and supporting something as accurate; (4) certain; sure; expectant; hopeful

Compatible Quality: responsible

Too Far: gullible
     Note: Be wise to the signs. Are you being played for a sap? If the person you trust is a real good liar, don’t beat yourself up for being taken in. Be true to your ideals. Give yourself credit, and learn from the experience.

Saying: In God we trust.

Quotes:
• As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German polymath [eight disciplines]
• It’s alright if you fail. Just try, and then be what you are. Know what you know. — Daniel James Abraham (1969-) American writer Age of Ash {2022}

Consideration: A blind person takes for granted the fact he or she occasionally needs to trust someone else; they need to put their faith in someone as a guide from time to time. Visualize a bicycle built for two; the person in front is sighted, the person in back is blind. They enjoy being together and they each play their part.
     Each person is sometimes a leader and sometimes a follower. We are all somewhat blind and somewhat sighted.

Observation: If you trust someone, you will find (or have found) in their actions reasons to trust them. At first, you may give them the benefit of the doubt.
     If you do not trust someone (including oneself) or if you have a suspicious nature, then even the most innocent actions will be clothed in negative scrutiny.

Comment: Trust is linked with expectations. If someone says, “I’ll pick you up at three,” and doesn’t show up until four, that person has set up and broken an expectation. The next time he or she makes a promise you may be less certain.

Symbol: freesia flowers

(TRUSTWORTHY)
Human Definitions: (1) worthy of confidence; dependable; (2) able to put minds at ease; reliable; (3) forthright and multifaceted in difficult matters; straightforward; (4) axiopisty (worthy of being believed)

Quote: People judge you really quickly, at first just on your facial features. There are two dimensions – warmth and competence. You can think of them as trustworthiness and strength. They are first judging you on warmth; evaluating whether or not you are trustworthy. That’s much more important than whether or not you are competent. — Amy Joy Casselberry Cuddy (1972-) American social psychologist, author, & speaker

Comment: There are some things so continuously trustworthy we end up forgetting they exist or expecting them to always be there. Some that come to mind: gravity, God, beliefs, parents, job.
     Consistent qualities are growth, choice, change, and love.