The Authentic Life
My mother would say it means to say what you mean and mean what you say, but if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.
She had it right… but not complete.
I have also found that living an authentic life is also about being true to ourselves in how we share ourselves in the world. And, I’m not just talking about sharing our opinions. If we never share our talents, reveal our creations—that painting, that poem, that song, that idea—are we being authentic?
When we hide behind the paycheck of an unfulfilling job rather than start that business we’ve been dreaming of and even planning for years, are we living an authentic life? When we are inspired to give, to help, to donate, to praise, to serve, to smile, and we withhold, are we being authentic?
Whatever your excuses have been, I invite you to stop believing them.
Living an authentic life requires vulnerability, to admit that wrong, to ask for what we need, to cry, to be the first to say, “I’m sorry,” to be the first to say, “I love you.”
Paul Coehlo says, “The magic moment is that in which a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ may change the all of your existence.”
When we live an authentic life, we appreciate those magic moments more… because we’re consciously creating them. We understand when we’re standing on the precipice of a magic moment because we chose to climb up there.
Of course, living an authentic life requires courage… a great deal of courage. After all, sometimes the scariest thing in the world is to stand up for what we believe in when everyone else is sitting down. Imagine yourself for a minute standing up there… alone in your truth.
What had you stand up? What causes you to remain standing? Is it the ego’s need to be right? Or something more? Something greater? Think about it… that which has you stay standing has far more stamina than the ego. The ego would have sat down long ago.
At some point, we come to realize that living an authentic life is nothing less than an act of Love… perhaps the greatest act of Love there is.
Love, and Love alone, stands forever. Love knows that authenticity brings greater intimacy, greater meaning, and greater rewards, even if no one else gets up there with us.
What does it mean to live authentically?
To live an authentic life means to be Love in every moment because there is no acceptable alternative.
After all, if we’re not authentic, what are we?
“Why have you been given this singular treasure that is your life—and how will you use it? What is the purpose for the unique blend of gifts, skills, experiences, and perspectives that you alone possess? Within every heart, there is a call to live an authentic life. To act in sync with that inner calling is to be unstoppable, for you are indeed living your highest calling.”
Dr. Rev. Michael Beckwith
About Gretchen DeWees Kennedy, RScP: Gretchen DeWees Kennedy is a licensed Religious Science Practitioner, writer, and marketing consultant living in Wilmington, Delaware with her pit bull and pointer. In addition to her New Thought spiritual coaching practice, she conducts inspirational workshops and lectures, and brings a vibrant enthusiasm and sense of infinite potential to her consulting clients. Reach Gretchen at 302-588-2789 or visit www.gretchenkennedy.me.
