Living an Authentic Life
Living authentically is to become the divine being that you were created to be.
-Estela Meza, Life Coach
When I look up the root of authenticity I see words like: genuine, original, true to one’s own spirit or character.
Here’s what I think it means to be authentic - to be true to who I am at my core, my heart, to be my highest self. I believe that our true self is pure love, it’s what we were born with. This means that my intention is to be true to myself while staying kind and compassionate with others. Not to be confused with the nice girl syndrome. I am authentic in honoring myself without being a doormat. This means that I am clear about my boundaries, this in itself is a journey. One of the main places where boundaries become critical is with those closest to us, usually this includes the family we were born into and everyone we interact with along the way.
Soon after we are born we begin socializing which is a great survival skill but along the way we can lose the essence of who we were born as, who we were born to be. At some point we can have a definitive split between the two parts of our self, the part that knows exactly what we like, want, need, and what brings us pure joy. And then there’s the part that has learned to be nice, polite, conforming, to do what we need to do to get along in this world.
Regardless of the all that I was “told” I should be, I always held on to a piece of what I knew to be my true essence and it has been my journey, to return to my authentic self. To distinguish between the lies and what is true for me and really to all humanity. To unlearn ideas and values instilled in me that do not serve me.
I know that I am not defined by anyone other than me and my values. This means knowing where my values are coming from rather than simply taking on the values of our family or our culture. Often this means going against the grain and more importantly making conscious choices, which are always better for us and our world. Having clear boundaries means I stay aware and awake to what is being asked of me or offered to me. Saying yes to those things that are aligned with me and no to those that are not aligned.
The Latin root of the word "authentic" is "author.” Because I am the author of my life then I am creating my life. I am continually discovering and evolving who I am, then designing my life and living in accordance with that. It can mean sharing my journey (like in this blog, or in my coaching, or with others in my tribe) for the purpose of connecting with others on this journey into the joy of becoming our full authentic self.