Authenticity. It’s a very important concept. When you purchase a work of art or antique furniture, you expect it to be authentic. You pay extra to have its authenticity verified. There’s even PBS series dedicated to the concept, Antiques Roadshow.
When it comes to people, authenticity is also highly valued. Valued, yet very difficult to find. Very difficult to be. The Billy Joel song The Stranger, “We all have a face that we hide away forever…” pretty much says it all. Are you an authentic person? I know I’m not. At least not always. I try to move in that direction, but I have a long journey ahead.
Do you know anyone who is truly authentic? What type of person do you think of when you think about that term?
Bet it’s not who I’m thinking of…
Lady Gaga. Yup. I watched A Very Gaga Thanksgiving last evening (please do listen to the Tony Bennett intro…amazing). Believe it or not, even though I am pushing 50…um…40 (40 is the new 50, right?) I am a fan of Gaga’s. It is easy to get distracted by her theatrical nature but she is an extraordinarily authentic person.
She is sincerely concerned about the problem of bullying in schools. She cried while speaking about opening a restaurant with her father. Her hit song, The Edge of Glory, comes from a specific moment in time while she watched her grandmother and grandfather together as he died. If you get the chance to hear her interview with Katie Couric, it is worth a few moments of your time.
So, what traits mark an authentic person? The qualities that come to my mine are honesty, integrity, respectfulness, self-awareness. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word authentic as “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact.” Based on fact. That makes sense. Fact. The things I try to portray about myself to others, are they based in fact? Are they authentic?
As you go through your days this week, as you interact with your family, friends, coworkers, make it your goal to be authentic. It should be easy, right? We know it’s not. But try anyway. Try to just be who you are.
