Authenticity…ugh,
another one of those trendy words. But it has so much meaning that I find
myself using it a lot lately.
What does
being authentic mean to you? Terms like ‘genuine’, ‘not fake’ or ‘having
integrity’ are likely to come up. To me being authentic means having a real
connection with your inner soul in a way that resonates with your outer
expression of self.
This is a
little more complicated that ‘what you say is what you do’ which I think is
more in line with a definition of integrity. You could behave with ethics and
integrity by saying and doing and showing up with congruency so that your colleagues
or loved ones trust your word. This is clearly important in the workplace with
many of you having worked for someone who did not display integrity and who
certainly did not engender trust and commitment from the team.
I think I
have for the most part operated with integrity (though unfortunately not all
the time) but even when I was aligning my thoughts, words and behaviour I now consider
that I was still not acting with authenticity because those these things were
not really aligned with my true inner desires and truth.
Authenticity
requires you to dig a little deeper, excavate under the socially constructed veneer,
through the self-built expectations and wallpaper that cover the real,
soul-level you.
Not the you
that you have learnt to see as yourself, but the real you that is the clear
driving force behind your passion and your purpose.
The
authentic you doesn’t say or do or believe things because they are only fair,
or acceptable, or right, but because they are your truth and there is simply no
other alternative then to express your truth.
Reflecting
on my last year or two in which I feel I have become more authentically me, I
would have to say the drive to make change in my life, the burning desire to
discover my passion come from a deep dissatisfaction with who I had become and the
work I was doing in the world.
“True growth tends not to be
yearned for until the discomfort of the status quo becomes unbearable”
In order to
connect with my purpose I took time away from all that I knew and lived
overseas doing volunteer work. This disconnection with things that I felt were
not aligned with who I was allowed my creative juices to start flowing again and
opened up a part of me that had been ignored for a long time. As I became more
aligned with my inner wisdom my purpose and passion starting to unfurl.
Then things
kinda got stuck for awhile until I consciously realised a needed to take a
large step into my true authenticity and speak it, say it, act it…not just know
it.
Are you
living your authentic life?
What does
that even mean to you?
How can you
unearth your soulful authenticity when living in the real world of responsibility
and expectations?
The first
step is a desire to do so and unfortunately it seems this does not truly occur
until the discomfort on life pushes you to explore who you really are.
Stay groovy
Kim
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