Having Joy in Being Fearlessly Authentic

I was so touched this past week when a lady came up to me and shared an authentic, painful life experience. She wanted to tell me my blog encouraged her and in turn gave her a desire to help a hurting friend. I have to admit I was not only humbled and also deeply touched . This single joy moment spurs me on to keep writing and exploring this adventure of having a blog. And then, there is tonight-(long sigh) . I find sleep alluding me, trying to entice me to join him and then at the last minute disappearing as if a vapor. But in these moments I long to write, so,maybe it’s not all bad.

I was thinking this weekend about the price we pay to become authentic. It is hard sometimes. We try so hard to impress people. We are so busy in portraying we have it all together, that we sometimes miss these joy moments in sharing our journey. Why does this thing called pride attempt to reach out with her tentacles to strangle the authenticity of what makes us, real? And I think everyone succumbs to this plight to a certain extent, but I don’t want to.

I am a single mom. I get discouraged, I don’t always feel strong. There are times when people will stop and ask me how I am doing? I normally just want to answer, “amazing!” But perhaps real truth at that moment is “i’m feeling overwhelmed”, or not strong. But Of course, being authentic makes you vulnerable, so most times I don’t answer that way. Then Pride, she throws back her shoulder, bears her sword of “I got it all together” and chases away the beauty of being authentic.

This weekend I thought about the people I have in my life right now. And I don’t know, but for me, I’m drawn to authentic people. I like being around people who are confident but yet, can still be real with me. If you need to test the authenticity of current people in your life, walk thru the fire and see who is on the other side ready to embrace you, scars and all. Now, that is authenticity, in its purest form.

I don’t want to just be authentic, I want to be fearlessly authentic! I want to experience joy because I chose being authentic over the pride. It’s not easier, it’s a lot harder, but it results in these beautiful, amazing relationships. I for one, want to be that authentic, fearless person standing on the other side of the fire: My scars and all of me, with open arms, embracing authenticity.