On Authenticity

Attaining pure authenticity is a life-long effort to be pursued. Although some situations tend to neglect authenticity, due to the ever-lasting pressure to conform to societal expectations, there always will be a certain occasion when we’ll be able to embrace our purest and truest self. Whether it is through art, by expressing ourselves without omitting our shortcomings, or ultimately thanks to the companionship of friendly acquaintances which may eventually forge an imperishable love for showing our true self. As varied as the forms of our newly born authenticity are, these can never leave us.

Writing is, from my viewpoint, the very moment when I feel the most honest towards my own self. Besides the worshipped therapeutical effects conveyed, I believe that writing only enables one to question themselves to a certain extent. The process itself unfolds naturally, from describing one’s feelings to sharing emotions and additionally uncovering one’s fears. In the end, the writer acknowledges his complete self. There is no doubt, only asserted certainties. There is no debate whether the flaws should be left aside, the thought doesn’t even have time to arise in the writer’s mind as it flows so soothingly. Each and every feature is taken into account, no cogitation required.

Nineteenth-century British poet William Wordsworth exhorted in a letter to his wife in 1812 : “Fill your paper with the breathing of your heart.”

This quotation quite simply elucidates the quintessence of writing. The writer gives his whole self to words, he plays with them and perverts them, nevertheless he never loses himself in the process. He becomes the paper, the words. Therefore, he cannot cover the shady elements. Black and white it is. And that is how authenticity is imprinted in writing.

This is how I feel whenever I pen something. There is no time to question myself, I am solely absorbed  in the piece I am giving myself to. 

“Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.” Eckhart Tolle

There will most-likely always be some kind of tribulations to hinder us from being honest with ourselves and from being satisfied of sharing all the parts of ourselves with others. But, at least for now, we should hold onto that these things that allows us to be authentic, no matter how tiny they seem to be. There is no greater pleasure than having this one little thing that makes us who we are, which reminds us of who we are, and which enables us to expand the perception others have on us by showing who we truly are. This not so little thing is a step towards the ultimate goal of being fully authentic, always.

Nevertheless, to remain authentic in our day-to-day life seems a much harder task to complete. To live in perfect harmony with our convictions is a challenge in our society ruled by capitalism, under some sort of new plutocracy. Additionally, being able to be outspoken about our values and clearly identify ourselves in relation to them in public seems to be increasingly scarce nowadays. 

To live by one’s values, from the diet we follow to the things that we consume, aware of the diktats society is attempting at forcing on us and yet rejecting them, more than being an ever-lasting endeavor, is a fiercely powerful act of authenticity. Authenticity endows one with the most precious reward: freedom. Being authentic means being brave enough not to hide beneath layers of false reality.

Which value do you believe you best live by?

P.S. This is an up-cycled version of a piece written in 2015.

Mi lugar. Sinsinati.