Over at the Handmade Laboratory that
is ‘I am The Lab” this week’s assignment is ‘Finding Authenticity’. As my current quest de jour is digging up my
authentic self, serendipity strikes again and brings the question ‘What is
Authenticity’. After all I have to know
what I’m looking for before I can find it – don’t want to toss it on the ‘junk’
pile unknowingly.
I bandy the word authenticity about
these days as if it were some sort of holy grail. If I can only set my authentic self free then
all will be right with the world – or at least my world. In the depths of a really dark depression a few
years back serendipity pointed me toward a book that I have delved in and out
of on this path to authenticity. Sarah
Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance. (The
wonders of this book deserve their very own post – perhaps another time). Suffice to say I know when I am in need of
extra special guidance I find myself on the couch soaking up the words for the
day.
From high school onward we are
burdened with the beliefs of the ‘older and ‘wiser’’ on what we should or
should not do with our lives. Albeit
their intentions may be sound these allegedly wiser beings tend to forget that
having done what they were advised to they are not leading a full and rewarding
life, and inherently they are not you. Add
to this that I was brought up in Scotland where feelings were those namby pamby
things they went on about in the movies, a luxury not for the likes of us. By the time I reached puberty I was already
fighting an uphill battle as my younger carefree self was engulfed in the
expectations and ‘acceptance’ of everyday life.
Today’s message of Simple Abundance is
to ‘Just Be’. I love the way Sarah finds
quotes that resonate with the whole authentic journey, today we stumble
upon “courage is the gift that life
extracts for granting peace” Amelia
Earhart. And immediately I am asking
for the courage to find my authenticity.
And the light bulb goes on – to me authenticity is truth. It is being at
peace with the life you are living. It
is living the life that you know in your gut is right for you, it is line with
your core values and just ‘is’. Perhaps
that’s why it’s so difficult to define because it is something deep and
personal to you. Only you will know when
you truly find it – although I’m sure the outside world will see all the
glorious signs. With all the struggles I
have gone through in my adult life I truly believe that the value of
authenticity should be part of the educational curriculum, ‘lest we
forget.’ To hold on to the dreams of our
inner child – the one who had her /his very own ideas of how their life was
meant to be.
So, my definition of authenticity : It
Just Is.
T
o Authenticity and Beyond
Catherine
xxx
Excellent post. I love that you really can distill it down to a simple line. But living it, that's the challenge.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it - but one I'm enjoying taking on. Cx
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