Poetry Friday
Authenticity
Beloveds,
When we are born it is natural to be authentic. We don’t know anything else. Our needs are expressed as best we know and there is an expectation to have them met. As we grow older, we find things are not so simple. Sometimes we get into situations that are difficult to journey, possibly something not even of our own making. Relationships form and we realize that we have the capacity to hurt others and they have the capacity to hurt us also. Being authentic is risky. How will what you have to offer be received? And, how will we receive what others open to us?
What does it mean to be authentic and true to yourself when you are placed in a situation where being authentic, saying your truth, could hurt another or disrupt group harmony? It could be in a family unit, friendships, church, or any number of places. How do you maintain your own agency in these situations? Do you tell a “white lie” to keep things smooth and relationships in tact? Do you avoid the situation/person? Do you make the choice to say your truth and let things fall where they will knowing it will cause pain? Maybe you choose to dance around the issue or deny? Do you obsess over the options when none of them seem “right”? What are your emotions/feelings telling you? Where do you feel this conflict in your body?
These are all the questions I have personally been struggling with over the last few months. I belong somewhere that is so precious to me and yet I am in a conflict that is hard to resolve without causing hurtful feelings. There is a knot in my stomach every time I think about the concern. I feel stuck in an uncomfortable place where speaking is certain to hurt others, and yet, I keep wondering how to still be true to my own inner self. Certainly there are times to “rock the boat” and disrupt systems. And, I think, there are also times to hold the conflict and reach out for help to discern the best paths for all involved.
Do you reach out? And when? Who is the person you trust the most where you can express all that is going on and know you will be held with love and deep listening? Do you have someone like this in your life? For me, this safe sacred space has been the time I talk to my spiritual director. I know, I trust, there will be an open, accepting, scared space where I can sort out my thoughts and be the most authentic. I have found that things happen when you hear your authentic self out loud in that space. The Spirit enters in the conversation and there are times when the Spirit leads to a place where unknowing speaks out loud too. I can’t say there is resolution always, however, there is an acknowledgement of holding all in a sacred space where truth can be spoken, heard, and somehow that knot in my stomach is dissipated. I pray that you too have a space to be authentic when your journey presents a conflict - or even JOY! I pray that you too can hear the Divine voice inside of you and that you are provided the comfort of being deeply listened to and held in unconditional caring in whatever you are holding this season.
Blessings,
Jace
Here’s what touched me this week in my wonderings…..
A whole Soul
I am soulful, I am insightful, I am creative,
I am exceptional, I am spiritual, I am a fighter,
I am powerful, I am kind, I am strong, I am focused.
Sometimes I am impatient, I worry,
I second guess myself, I get anxious,
I get emotional, I break, I get scared,
I over analyse, I get bad days.
See, I am both light and dark.
I won't deny any aspects of who I am,
Because 'A healthy soul is a whole soul'
And mine is beautifully made of all of the above.
If you only want me in my perfect state,
Keep walking,
Don't you stop here,
There's absolutely no room for you here.
By Esther Hadassah Sendeza, from allpoetryAuthenticity Never Ages...
Dare not to compare,
me to you or you to me.
In our minds, we write all kinds,
of untrue stories about what we think we see.
True beauty is rooted in authenticity.
It's not what we hear and see,
that makes us a stunning beauty.
It's what' on the inside that people want to see.
Books, TV, models, Hollywood, the Internet,
create great confusion with their doctored illusions,
and imagery of how beauty should look or be.
But no real person can ever look like what we see.
Want to be handsome?
Want to be pretty?
Be yourself. Be authentic.
Live authentically.
When the page of youth,
gets turned, and you've earned your age.
Your exterior beauty will most surely fade.
But, do not despair, for the beauty within you will still be there.
For authenticity never ages...
By Lee Thomas, all poetry
I’ve fallen in love with these short films.
Delight in the mystery. We don’t always understand our journey until we can see the whole context.