What Does Authenticity Mean To You?

Women For One community, We are asking YOU! what your definition of authenticity is. Write us or VIDEOTAPE yourself telling us at our SHARE link. Here are two great definitions we received from courageous women in our community. 

To me my authentic self is who I am in “real light”. All of my truths. The clean, dirty, pretty, ugly, brilliant, idiotic, gracious, selfish, willing, stubborn, sweet, mean, happy, sad, secure, jealous, faithful, deceitful, brave and fearful. All of this is what is true about me. Broken and whole. All of it is me authentically me. . Authentic me is me accepting and loving myself with all of this truth. To know or love me is to accept all of this and see it as lovely as I do. Only when I accept who I am can I see and love your authentic self.

Linda Duty – August 2013

Funny you should ask about authentic because the book I am writing right now, 50 Acts of Kindness is about a woman trying to rehabilitate her image, which she starts for all the wrong reasons and ends, up, through doing 50 acts of kindness in 50 days, reconnecting with her authentic self. So I have been thinking about this topic for literally hours. And to me it means acting or thinking without outer influences. You do something or think something because it comes from your instinct and your best self, not because it’s popular or edgy or what you were raised to think or do. It’s something that connects us to our spirituality because it’s without the noise and chatter of opinions. It’s truth, simply put and I think it’s very hard for people to connect with. I think meditation helps. And listening to what you want to do, versus what you think everyone else wants you to do. Authenticity is an island in a sea of opinions, it stands alone. There, I should have just used that last sentence.

Ellyn Oaksmith – August 2013