Authenticity and Mother Theresa

           Henry David Thoreau said "we are constantly invited to be who we are".  That's an interesting thing to think about.  It certainly brings up the question "who am I and where is that invitation"?  I think, however, Thoreau was absolutely right.  The invitation comes every day, multiple times every day. And the answer to who we are is revealed in our response each time the invitation comes.  When we can let go of what other people think, our fears & insecurities, our should haves and regrets, our need to be perfect or at least to look that way, and own our own story, we gain access to our authenticity. We are able to act in accordance with the best version of ourselves. 

            Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day.  It’s about the choice to show up and be real.  The choice to be honest.  The choice to let our true selves be seen.  I was reading Seth Godin's blog talking about authenticity the other day.  I really liked his thoughts on authenticity.  He said "authenticity, for me, is doing what you promise, not "being who you are".  That's because being is too amorphous and we are notoriously bad at judging that. Doing, on the other hand, is an act that can be seen by all.  Mother Theresa was filled with self-doubt.  But she was an authentic saint, because she always acted like one. You could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just act like that all the time.  That's good enough and it saves you the angst!"