Authenticity

I'm still coming down from the MsC and the thoughts and epiphanies that have come in the past several days. It's always amazing to see the universe pipe up to contribute to whatever turmoil is rolling through my brain. At every turn, it seems, I am finding affirmations, quotes, and essays which touch on things I am working to integrate into my life.

I was reading this essay on Authenticity by Richard and Namaste (http://www.richardandnamaste.com/just-say-no-to-faux-authenticity/) and something in it really resonated with me. Authenticity is as personal as any other part of our journey.

It sometimes seems as though the cry in the community for everyone to be authentic includes a subtle undertone that everyone's authenticity should look the same from the outside. That everyone should be “open” in the same way. If you think about it, the idea is ridiculous. We are individuals and what is me is not necessarily found anywhere else in the same proportions and visions.

I am:

• A Slave
• Dominant
• Sadistic
• Powerful
• Strong
• Courageous
• Afraid
• Loving
• Generous
• Shy
• Loud
• Introverted
• Loyal
• Honest
• Surrendered
• Valuable
• Private

There are many contradictory ways to view me based on my self-identified authenticity. You know what? I don't care. My authentic self is as contradictory as that list. I am an introvert who truly loves being with people and sharing knowledge and love. I just need time to recharge afterward. I am a slave, but I am not submissive. I have to be dominant to live my life authentically and happily. I am a private person, but I like to share with those I care about and trust. I share some things with the world at large, but the deep, inner me stuff I keep close to the vest.

None of these contradictions make my authenticity any less than anyone else's authenticity is to them. Humans are contradictory in many ways. We nurture and destroy. We love and we hate. We create and we consume. Why would who we are at our cores be any less contradictory?


Authenticity has to be individual because everyone's reality is going to be unique. It is important to keep that in mind and to share YOUR authentic self rather than striving to meet the standards of anyone else's authenticity.