Are we living authentically? Authenticity is about being real and feeling comfortable in ourselves. So what is real for us? In order to know the answers to these questions, we must discover our truth and what feels right for us.
“To be nobody but myself-in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting.” E E. Cummings
We are conditioned as children to be a certain type of person and live in a certain way. As we age and mature in our understanding of life, is it any wonder that we begin to question who we are? We all have a space within to connect us to the truth and what it means to be our authentic self.
If we do not do take time to find this truth and have the courage to live it; we will be led by others, who keep us trapped in their interpretation and belief of us.
The most difficult part of being my authentic self has been to expose my vulnerabilities. Being authentic means stepping out and going against the grain. It may mean I need to say “no” when I am expected to say “yes.” It may mean living a life less travelled when I could easily follow the “crowd.” It may mean showing a part of me that nobody has seen and being honest about my feelings.
These are difficult challenges to face. If we avoid or deny these parts of ourself to others, they will be exposed in our workplace, in our health or in our relationships. We can pretend all we want however, at the end of the day, we all know the truth and when we take the risk to live authentically, we will find our freedom.
When I start living authentically, then I create a space for you and together, we can free each other from the fears that hold us back.
As we step into our truth we begin to learn about ourselves, challenging old beliefs and letting go of our baggage. It is about being able to reach deeply within and find out what makes our heart sing, our spirit soar.
LIVING IN THIS MOMENT 
thanks for encouraging me
to play the role
of myself 🙂
I think you do it very well David. Thanks for sharing your gifts with us. 🙂
It is not always easy to step out and find the courage to stand, just by ourselves, but worth it 🙂
It is worth it Irene. It can feel very lonely and scary at times, and is why so many cannot do it. Thankyou for your comment.
Nice post. I especially like this line”When I start living authentically, then I create a space for you and together, we can free each other from the fears that hold us back.” I think we can really help each other out my mirroring each other when we are out of balance. We can reign each other in.
You are right, we can reign each other in and when we remember we are all connected and not separate from one another, we can become a channel of inspiration together. Thankyou.
Yes! What a lovely thing.
Very true, Karen, and it does take a lot of courage to ‘separate from the herd’, as Carl Jung called it (I included the quote on a Sophia’s Children post – http://tinyurl.com/k7vgocw). You offer good encouragement, though, because living someone else’s life — what we’re doing if we’re not authentic — really does have a high cost. Thanks once more for sharing your wisdom! Blessings, Jamie
It does have a high cost Jamie, on our energy and our happiness. Thankyou for sharing your link, your post is a great reflection on what it means to live differently. 🙂
So true. Not easy to be your authentic self, but worth it in the end, I believe.
It is worth it Jennifer. Thankyou so much for your comment.
Thank you Karen for this powerful post. And a reminder that when we find the courage to be ourselves and to be vulnerable we also risk losing people who may have been close to us. There is always a cost, but its part of the path to freedom.
… The bonus is when we discover there are others who have travelled a similar path and found themselves too 🙂
We are not alone!
So true Val. When we do find like-minded connections, the collective awareness is a shared life of potential! It is wonderful in the bloggers world. 🙂
Karen,
I like your line: “It may mean living a life less travelled when I could easily follow the crowd.”
Reminds me of two quotes:”I took the roads less travelled, and it made all the difference.”-Robert Frost
“When a crowd is rushing in one direction and one person is slowing walking in the other direction, that one person seems insane. Until the crowd rushes off the edge of a cliff.”-G.K. Chesterton
One must be wary of the difference between objective and subjective truths.
-Alan
Love the quote by Chesterton, I think I may have been heading off the cliff at one stage of my life! We all have a choice, as difficult as it is, to live authentically. Thankyou Alan. 🙂
This phrase alone, “When I start living authentically, then I create a space for you..”, really reminds me that being myself is showing kindness and sharing love with others. When I allow myself to be “me”, I create the space for “we” to become, to connect. Your words are lovely.
Well I love the way you have explained that sentence eM. You made me feel connected with your kind words! Thankyou ❤️
As always, your words are powerfully encouraging! Thank you.
Thankyou for your kind thoughts. I write these words for myself as well. To live from a deep truth is my goal. 🙂
Life is a challenge and living the authentic way is hopefully something I am slowing doing. Karen once again another great post to help me see into my own future.
It is a challenge Kath and I think its because so many of us are not living authentically. When we give ourselves permission to live truthfully, hopefully it allows someone else too!
Thankyou for your contribution and support. ❤️
“The most difficult part of being my authentic self has been to expose my vulnerabilities.” – That’s a tough one for me, Karen.
It is for all us MK, but if I can, you can, and this gives each of us an opportunity to be true to ourselves and to be free. 🙂 Thankyou
I knew I was authentic a long long long long time ago. Even grew stronger as I experienced so many types of people, nationalities.
You are very authentic Rommel. Travelling and an open mind really create a space in us, and this allows others to join in too. 🙂
Yes being Authentic is a very valuable asset. I am strongly for it and I get into trouble quite often because of it, as its not all who can accept authenticity. Thanks for the article Karen ❤
Most welcome Deepa 💚🌈