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Nowadays we can hear and read a lot about authenticity. About being authentic. Being our true selves. Living our fullest potential. Expressing our individual uniqueness.
No matter what words we choose to describe it, our authenticity is important.
The good news on that is that being authentic is valued more in our society in general at this point in time.
Where we were deemed ‘eccentric’, or just plain weird ~ or even a bit crazy ~ when we expressed our authenticity in the past; now we are admired for doing so.
This also means that it becomes more and more important to figure out what our personal authenticity entails. What is part of our authentic self, and what is not? And how do we know the difference?
Sometimes it is easier to start looking at what is not part of our authenticity.
Dressing or behaving unconventionally for the sole purpose of showing off that we are authentic hardly ever fits the bill. It makes us eccentric rather than authentic. The same is true if the reason is “to keep our city weird”; or if we see it as a statement that we are different than our parents would like us to be. In all these instances the reason for being different lies outside of ourselves.
When we are truly authentic, the reason will lie in the expression of a deep inner sense of who we are.
Therefore, authenticity is a state of being rather than something we do.
When we are ‘being ourselves’ ~ without having the need to hide behind words, behavior, dress codes etc. that place us in a certain category where we are told we belong ~ that is where we are authentic. This is also a state where expressing our individuality takes honesty rather than effort.
While it sounds easy to ‘just be ourselves’ and to honestly express our individuality in this manner, it does take a healthy dose of courage to actually start doing it.
Yet when we take the plunge, the rewards are enormous!
Being authentic and consequently living our authenticity has a tendency to make our lives easier. It may bring a lot more happiness and joy into our lives. It can help us set our priorities in such a way that we don’t get entangled in stuff that, in all reality, is not all that important to us…
And as we take on our own responsibilities, it becomes easier and easier to permit the people around us to do the same.
All the more reasons to embark upon the journey to discover our own authenticity.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Security
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Security is one of those things that applies on many levels in our lives. It implies an absence of any danger, or the protection against (physical or financial) danger. And there is a sense of security that comes with our own space, a frequency of energy that we are comfortable with, and the knowledge we have food and shelter for ourselves and our loved ones.
From that perspective, our sense of security may well be our number one priority in our lives…
In turn this means that we are willing to do a lot of things in order to secure that level of comfort that comes with food, shelter, space ~ in other words all those things that allow us to live our lives the way we desire to. And on top of that we like to show the world that we are successful at it! Pretty soon, just shelter isn’t enough; the house has to be big! The car expensive. Celebrations much talked about…
With that comes a whole new level of security, or perhaps insecurity.
In other words, that which set out to be part of our sense of security can, at some point, cross a line and become the cause of a feeling of insecurity. It is all part and parcel of the energy we are living in today that highlights each and every polarity we are dealing with in our lives.
The solution seems to be counter-intuitive.
While for centuries we have gathered and held on to anything and everything we could ~ house, finances, knowledge, etc. ~ in order to enhance our sense of security; now we may find ourselves discarding of things in order to do the same. Downsizing, simplifying, managing our lives…
Rather than ever wanting ‘more’, because ‘more’ would also mean a greater sense of security, we seem to have arrived at a point where less is more.
This doesn’t mean that we should give away everything we own and start living as a hermit necessarily. However, it does mean that we let go of those things that may have started to dictate how we live our lives. It means we go back to the basics of things, the essence. To that part we deem truly important. To the things we genuinely value in our lives.
When we evaluate our sense of security from this perspective, we may find that the more we let go, the greater our sense of security. We may even find that this is also true for the way we plan our activities, and the paths we take to accomplish our goals…
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Security is one of those things that applies on many levels in our lives. It implies an absence of any danger, or the protection against (physical or financial) danger. And there is a sense of security that comes with our own space, a frequency of energy that we are comfortable with, and the knowledge we have food and shelter for ourselves and our loved ones.
From that perspective, our sense of security may well be our number one priority in our lives…
In turn this means that we are willing to do a lot of things in order to secure that level of comfort that comes with food, shelter, space ~ in other words all those things that allow us to live our lives the way we desire to. And on top of that we like to show the world that we are successful at it! Pretty soon, just shelter isn’t enough; the house has to be big! The car expensive. Celebrations much talked about…
With that comes a whole new level of security, or perhaps insecurity.
In other words, that which set out to be part of our sense of security can, at some point, cross a line and become the cause of a feeling of insecurity. It is all part and parcel of the energy we are living in today that highlights each and every polarity we are dealing with in our lives.
The solution seems to be counter-intuitive.
While for centuries we have gathered and held on to anything and everything we could ~ house, finances, knowledge, etc. ~ in order to enhance our sense of security; now we may find ourselves discarding of things in order to do the same. Downsizing, simplifying, managing our lives…
Rather than ever wanting ‘more’, because ‘more’ would also mean a greater sense of security, we seem to have arrived at a point where less is more.
This doesn’t mean that we should give away everything we own and start living as a hermit necessarily. However, it does mean that we let go of those things that may have started to dictate how we live our lives. It means we go back to the basics of things, the essence. To that part we deem truly important. To the things we genuinely value in our lives.
When we evaluate our sense of security from this perspective, we may find that the more we let go, the greater our sense of security. We may even find that this is also true for the way we plan our activities, and the paths we take to accomplish our goals…
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Bored
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This past week the weather has been very wet, where I live. Lot’s of rain and wind have made sure that nature is thriving as well as renewing itself in some places where old trees have fallen to make room for new plants and trees; for future generations…
The beauty of this seems to be totally lost on my cats.
One day of rain is okay; after all, one can use that time very comfortably to catch up on some ‘lost sleep’ while the weather was still warm and dry. But after a couple of days and nights of wet weather, boredom sets in. Suddenly the litter-box is more appealing than the idea of getting wet feet. And there is only so much sleep to catch up on…
For us people it seems to be the perfect weather to sit down with a mug of hot chocolate and a book. Time to hang back, to do nothing. Yet in our modern society we are not geared to spend time doing nothing. Pretty soon for us too, boredom sets in. We may feel restless, wanting to do something, yet resisting going outside as that would have a high probability of getting drenched…
And where my cats eventually will find other mischief to get involved in, for us the restless feeling; the not knowing what is next can be quite uncomfortable.
In a sense this does have to do with how we value things we do and enjoy in life.
In our fast paced, high energy lives we tend to value activity a lot more than we value rest. Of course we may sleep in on our day off; yet once ‘up and running’ we feel we need to do exactly that: be up and running. Sometimes in the most literal sense possible as we are jogging our way through town in a bid to stay in shape.
It looks like we have forgotten how important the moments of ‘doing nothing’ are for us. Those moments when we just sit back, relax, and watch the world go by…
These times are important as it is in these moments that we ~ whether we are conscious of it or not ~ reflect and evaluate where we are at in life. If we would like to change directions, or feel better just to keep going in our chosen direction.
From that perspective, the continuing rainy weather is a time of reflection and integration. When we find ourselves feeling bored and uncomfortable because we cannot (or don’t feel to) engage in our normal activities, it might help us to label the reflection and integration as an ‘activity’, make ourselves a mug of hot chocolate, and just sit back for a while…
.
.
This past week the weather has been very wet, where I live. Lot’s of rain and wind have made sure that nature is thriving as well as renewing itself in some places where old trees have fallen to make room for new plants and trees; for future generations…
The beauty of this seems to be totally lost on my cats.
One day of rain is okay; after all, one can use that time very comfortably to catch up on some ‘lost sleep’ while the weather was still warm and dry. But after a couple of days and nights of wet weather, boredom sets in. Suddenly the litter-box is more appealing than the idea of getting wet feet. And there is only so much sleep to catch up on…
For us people it seems to be the perfect weather to sit down with a mug of hot chocolate and a book. Time to hang back, to do nothing. Yet in our modern society we are not geared to spend time doing nothing. Pretty soon for us too, boredom sets in. We may feel restless, wanting to do something, yet resisting going outside as that would have a high probability of getting drenched…
And where my cats eventually will find other mischief to get involved in, for us the restless feeling; the not knowing what is next can be quite uncomfortable.
In a sense this does have to do with how we value things we do and enjoy in life.
In our fast paced, high energy lives we tend to value activity a lot more than we value rest. Of course we may sleep in on our day off; yet once ‘up and running’ we feel we need to do exactly that: be up and running. Sometimes in the most literal sense possible as we are jogging our way through town in a bid to stay in shape.
It looks like we have forgotten how important the moments of ‘doing nothing’ are for us. Those moments when we just sit back, relax, and watch the world go by…
These times are important as it is in these moments that we ~ whether we are conscious of it or not ~ reflect and evaluate where we are at in life. If we would like to change directions, or feel better just to keep going in our chosen direction.
From that perspective, the continuing rainy weather is a time of reflection and integration. When we find ourselves feeling bored and uncomfortable because we cannot (or don’t feel to) engage in our normal activities, it might help us to label the reflection and integration as an ‘activity’, make ourselves a mug of hot chocolate, and just sit back for a while…
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Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Where we live
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The area we live in has its specific culture, its specific scenery, and it specific energy. And especially when we are born in a certain area or when we have lived in an area for a very long time, we tend to start working with that culture, that scenery and that energy.
Even when we have trouble with the cultural aspects of the area and move away from it as soon as we legally can ~ we may still have a longing for certain aspects of its scenery, its energy as we grow up and grow older; prompting us to revisit it. To re-examine it. To come to terms with it…
The way we work with the scenery can be twofold.
We either thoroughly enjoy the scenery, emerging ourselves in its peaks and valleys as much as we can; or we start finding ways in which we can do our chores in such a manner that these same peaks and valleys hinder us least.
Practically the latter means that we find suitable transportation to easily climb those hills, or move through the fords of the little streams in the valleys.
Yet we are doing the same from an emotional aspect, and even an energy perspective…
In order to avoid an emotional ‘roller-coaster’ that may come with the peaks and valleys in the area ~ feeling really good and on top of the world one moment, while feeling ‘down and out the other ~ we may adopt a continuity of mood, or outlook on life that works for us.
The interesting thing is that this behavior in essence is related to the area we live in, rather than to our state of being.
So when we move away from that area ~ whether we truly move away from it or just are enjoying a vacation ~ we may find ourselves starting to react quite a bit differently to our surroundings. And to the people we meet. Even the things we do, we may find ourselves doing differently…
And while some of that is cultural ~ after all, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ ~ another part of that is our reaction to the area we are in. How we perceive the energy of that area.
How we look at ‘the lay of the land’…
This means that where we live often a greater impact can have on our sense of self that we may be aware of in our day-to-day lives.
And every once in a while it may be a good thing to look back at trips we have made or other places, other areas we have lived and ‘compare notes’; see how we felt about our lives then, how we got stuff done, how we reacted to situations in that other place…
And when we would do that, we just may surprise ourselves…
.
.
The area we live in has its specific culture, its specific scenery, and it specific energy. And especially when we are born in a certain area or when we have lived in an area for a very long time, we tend to start working with that culture, that scenery and that energy.
Even when we have trouble with the cultural aspects of the area and move away from it as soon as we legally can ~ we may still have a longing for certain aspects of its scenery, its energy as we grow up and grow older; prompting us to revisit it. To re-examine it. To come to terms with it…
The way we work with the scenery can be twofold.
We either thoroughly enjoy the scenery, emerging ourselves in its peaks and valleys as much as we can; or we start finding ways in which we can do our chores in such a manner that these same peaks and valleys hinder us least.
Practically the latter means that we find suitable transportation to easily climb those hills, or move through the fords of the little streams in the valleys.
Yet we are doing the same from an emotional aspect, and even an energy perspective…
In order to avoid an emotional ‘roller-coaster’ that may come with the peaks and valleys in the area ~ feeling really good and on top of the world one moment, while feeling ‘down and out the other ~ we may adopt a continuity of mood, or outlook on life that works for us.
The interesting thing is that this behavior in essence is related to the area we live in, rather than to our state of being.
So when we move away from that area ~ whether we truly move away from it or just are enjoying a vacation ~ we may find ourselves starting to react quite a bit differently to our surroundings. And to the people we meet. Even the things we do, we may find ourselves doing differently…
And while some of that is cultural ~ after all, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ ~ another part of that is our reaction to the area we are in. How we perceive the energy of that area.
How we look at ‘the lay of the land’…
This means that where we live often a greater impact can have on our sense of self that we may be aware of in our day-to-day lives.
And every once in a while it may be a good thing to look back at trips we have made or other places, other areas we have lived and ‘compare notes’; see how we felt about our lives then, how we got stuff done, how we reacted to situations in that other place…
And when we would do that, we just may surprise ourselves…
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Friday, May 2, 2014
Tomorrow
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Tomorrow always holds a lot of promise; there are always things we are planning to do, new adventures to start, things that we are awaiting with anticipation that will happen tomorrow…
Most of those things we have planned for. We have been wanting to do or experience them for some time, we planned it, we set it up, penciled it into our calendars… And now it is almost there! Tomorrow it will finally happen!
A little bit like the anticipation we may have felt when we were children and our birthday was ‘only three nights away’. And then only two nights; and then it was tomorrow…
As children, we were certain that our birthdays ~ or whatever other adventure we were anticipating ~ really would happen tomorrow; and we were sure that they would bring everything we hoped for and more.
As adults, the promise of tomorrow may have become a little bit more dualistic.
Yes, there are still those things we have planned that will happen tomorrow. And as tomorrow becomes today, these things happen and we (hopefully) enjoy them; enjoy the experience of them. As time moves on, they have happened yesterday and they are something to look back upon. A memory to be cherished.
On the other hand there are also things we promise ourselves we will do tomorrow.
Often things we may not enjoy as much, things we may even be a bit fearful about ~ either because we are not certain we can actually get it done, stick with it, or even dare do it when we are faced with the whole package of it. For instance, things like starting that diet; starting to get into shape; to stop smoking. Or even the decision that whatever happened to us years ago will not any longer influence our lives in a negative way anymore…
These type of things may not ~ as time progresses ~ actually ever come into our lives today. They may always be the promise we make to ourselves that we will start them tomorrow. We will do it tomorrow…
When we do this with something we know we probably should do, but we are really not feeling up to actually doing it ~ we are not living in the moment. At least as far as this aspect of our lives is concerned, we are living in the future ~ always looking at living it, starting it, doing it tomorrow.
What we are really doing, is locking part of our energy up into the future, without ever claiming the results to be our own…
So, let’s promise to ourselves that tomorrow we will just start living ‘now’…
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.
Tomorrow always holds a lot of promise; there are always things we are planning to do, new adventures to start, things that we are awaiting with anticipation that will happen tomorrow…
Most of those things we have planned for. We have been wanting to do or experience them for some time, we planned it, we set it up, penciled it into our calendars… And now it is almost there! Tomorrow it will finally happen!
A little bit like the anticipation we may have felt when we were children and our birthday was ‘only three nights away’. And then only two nights; and then it was tomorrow…
As children, we were certain that our birthdays ~ or whatever other adventure we were anticipating ~ really would happen tomorrow; and we were sure that they would bring everything we hoped for and more.
As adults, the promise of tomorrow may have become a little bit more dualistic.
Yes, there are still those things we have planned that will happen tomorrow. And as tomorrow becomes today, these things happen and we (hopefully) enjoy them; enjoy the experience of them. As time moves on, they have happened yesterday and they are something to look back upon. A memory to be cherished.
On the other hand there are also things we promise ourselves we will do tomorrow.
Often things we may not enjoy as much, things we may even be a bit fearful about ~ either because we are not certain we can actually get it done, stick with it, or even dare do it when we are faced with the whole package of it. For instance, things like starting that diet; starting to get into shape; to stop smoking. Or even the decision that whatever happened to us years ago will not any longer influence our lives in a negative way anymore…
These type of things may not ~ as time progresses ~ actually ever come into our lives today. They may always be the promise we make to ourselves that we will start them tomorrow. We will do it tomorrow…
When we do this with something we know we probably should do, but we are really not feeling up to actually doing it ~ we are not living in the moment. At least as far as this aspect of our lives is concerned, we are living in the future ~ always looking at living it, starting it, doing it tomorrow.
What we are really doing, is locking part of our energy up into the future, without ever claiming the results to be our own…
So, let’s promise to ourselves that tomorrow we will just start living ‘now’…
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