Tag Archives: authenticity

Just Be Who You Are

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“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”  —Ralph Waldo Emerson

So many reasons to hide behind the truth. So much pressure to morph, modify, and redesign. Chameleons changing colors to blend in with the landscape, desperate not to be noticed. Finding shadows and shade in the sun to flee the spotlight. Hooded sweatshirts and heads hung low, making the most of anonymity. Turning a corner before inevitable interactions and pretending invisibility is an imperative.

Why?

What is waiting in the dark, so creepily creeping? What is making the notion of comfortably wearing your own skin seem like such a daunting proposition? Why do the opinions and feedback of others dictate your fundamental choices?

We seem more willing to disappear into cookie-cutter molds of conformity than to own our personal truth…nicks and scratches, flaws and foibles be damned. But constantly donning clothes that don’t fit invites more than chafing. There is a systematic breakdown of truth and authenticity inside that dearth of personal power, and each clumsy stride in shoes that are two sizes too small is another lost lap in the race.

So toss the mask aside, step into the sun, and say what’s on your mind. Leave the self-censoring and code-switching at the curb. Not everyone will like you, and that’s okay. Mass acceptance is wildly overrated.

It may feel a bit jarring at first, but I can promise this: You’ll instantly gain at least one new fan.

Adolescence Interrupted

…and stop killing animals.

Keep It Real

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As we hurtle toward an uncertain future, soaked in deepfakes, cheap fakes, AI trickery, and all the modern technological manipulation you can eat, I wonder if there will be a renewed thirst for some sense of grounded authenticity.

If we are inundated with artificiality at every turn, will we grow weary of having to constantly decipher fact from fiction? Always wondering if someone was real or created. Never being entirely sure about who or what to trust. The tedium of that task would be torturous.

A grand puppeteer pulling the strings of the global perception of reality, making merry mischief with his marionette. 

It’s the stuff of sci-fi nightmares…and yet it is already so much closer and worse than we’d like to admit. 

The sad truth is that once the general public is first made aware of anything, that invention, innovation, or discovery is generally pretty far down the path. So any sense that AI is a “new” thing is somewhat laughable. If we know even basic, surface details about something, its development is already light years ahead of any bare-bones prototype currently making the beta rounds.

Once that horse has left the barn, it’s not circling back for another round of currying.

So, do we desperately try to pump the brakes on the inevitable digital transformation, or do we collectively decide that stripping everything down to its essential qualities and reclaiming the concept of humanity will yield a healthier and more manageable harvest?

It may not even be a choice we have much longer to make. But there is always strength in numbers…and the will of the group is a tough will to break.

Adolescence Interrupted

The Genuine Article

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In a world of artificiality and pretense, there is a heavy value placed on authenticity. Pull back the curtain, peel off the filter, and slide down the mask. Let us see who you really are. Be brave enough to shine and showcase. We’ll all applaud your courage and welcome you into this incessantly judgmental society with wide open arms. No one will snicker or jeer, roll their eyes, or whisper a whiff of denigration. Climb into this giant velvety warm blanket of unconditional acceptance and approval. You’re finally safe. You’re finally home.

Then the alarm sounds and the dream ceases to exist.

It seems as though we want “realness” only when it settles comfortably into our preconceived concepts of conformity. When boundaries are blurred or the delineation between normal and abnormal gets a little fuzzy, we get antsy.

A degree of flexibility is needed to achieve cultural balance, and those muscles only get looser with the deep-stretch duo of time and education. It is a gradual, steady progression. Any significant historical change is measured in millennia not minutes.

The prescription is not to abandon the trek but to find more forgiving terrain. There is power in the plodding and nothing worth achieving is ever accomplished quickly or without pain.

So keep pushing, keep fighting, and keep exploring ways to solidify the concrete around your feet. Stay connected to the earth and remain grounded.

Keep it real.

Adolescence Interrupted