Authenticity

“The authentic self is the soul made visible”
--Sarah Ban Breathnach


I have read Sarah Ban Breathnach's books, in particular Simple Abundance, many times throughout my adult life. In her writings, she talks a lot about what it means for each of us to be authentic; to be our truest selves.

To me, this authenticity comes out in many ways. For artists, it manifests itself in the things we create from that authentic spirit. And when others try to take that authenticity in the form of art and call it their own, it is not just a violation of idea it is a violation of soul!

I think about this a great deal lately, for lots of reasons. I think about the way in which my work is my authentic soul made visible and how important it is to me on so many levels. I am grateful that I am capable of expressing my soul in ways that others just cannot; each of us has the power to express it, but not in the same way which makes us all different. It makes us who we are.

As I go into the next year, I will be concentrating on what it means to be my truest self once in light of the fact that my life is about to change once again.

My sense of self is about to go through another transformation. And transformations can be tough. They rock you to the core, and they take you to places you aren't sure your heart wants to go. But after all of that struggle comes peace in the heart. So when the bad stuff comes, I want to remember what I know to be true today and always:

* I am stronger than I think I am
* I am resilient and flexible
* I am a wonderful mom, friend and daughter.
* I want to do good by people, and I want them to do good by me.
* I expect great things to happen and I know that it is up to me to make them come true
* Shitty things happen to good people. It is what they do in those times that makes them even more true, more authentic
* My experiences have shaped who I am, and that makes me truly unique and special. It does not make me wrong, bad or inadequate.
* This too shall pass...

What makes you authentic? What are you doing in your life to nurture that authentic spirit? What are you doing in your life that is not authentic?

I find myself asking these questions everyday, and by asking them they have taken me to all kinds of places.

As we peel back the layers of our selves, we can see what is really there. To be authentic we must shed those things that we have borrowed along the way that no longer fit or never did. We must start anew, awash in the promise of a new day.