Authentic Living: Harder Than We Think

I just finished reading The Witch Of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, first published in 1958. My goodness, did this book get me thinking about what it means to live authentically.

For, I don’t how many years, the idea of living “authentically” has permeated our social streams and, before that, our print stories and movies. Even the music of the past 50 years has shouted some variation of Whitman’s barbaric YAWP to be YOU and seize that day.

But maybe the reason we keep hearing it over and over is because living an authentic life is harder than simply heading to your nearest rooftop (YAWP!) or memorizing a great quote by Herrick to gather your rosebuds (while ye may). We keep hearing and reading it because doing that in the present, in the now, requires a great deal of humility in recognizing our weaknesses, temptations, and falls.

I am reminded of “The Smokey Mirror” in Don Miguel Ruiz’ Four Agreements (I LOVE this reflection by Jessica Araus). In this short story that opens up this magnificent work on a simpler approach to living, Ruiz realizes the elusiveness of being fully aware of who you are, what is happening all around you, and what you might be capable of achieving in this lifetime.

“Then he knew that he would soon forget all that he had learned. He wanted to remember all the visions he had had, so he decided to call himself the Smokey Mirror so that he would always know that matter is a mirror and the smoke in-between is what keeps us from knowing what we are. He said, “I am the Smokey Mirror, because I am looking at myself in all of you, but we don’t recognize each other because of the smoke in-between us. That smoke is the Dream, and the mirror is you, the dreamer.”

Isn’t it the same for us reading our religious or spiritual texts? Isn’t that the purpose of our mantras? We must constantly remind ourselves of what is good, of what is right, of who we are, of what is true for who we are.

Again, that’s hard to do.

We are constantly wooed by distractions. How many of us find ourselves picking up our devices and, an hour (or three) later, wondering how in the world so much time could pass so quickly?

But it’s not limited to social media. We are distracted by the things that divide us. And, in the deeply obsessive manner of proving somebody “wrong,” we neglect to hear what our friends are really saying or what we might really believe ourselves.

In other words, we get so caught up in the battle that we forget to listen to the reasons and origins for our conflict (if, in fact, those two things are the same).

So, yeah. It’s hard to stay authentic to our beliefs, to who we are, to the core of what makes us unique, organic, individuals. But that’s not new; the distractions are different, yes. The ability to remain authentic? Not so much.

Yet – and this is a big YET, it is these distractions, these tests, these falls, these weaknesses that comprise our authenticity as human beings. I absolutely believe that we are all just trying our best to get things right. To know who we are. To do the best thing. Even in our shortcomings and missed turns, it all contributes to this new moment, this new opportunity to get it right. To be authentic. To be who we really are.

If Elizabeth George Speare could write about it in 1958, and if that book could get me thinking in 2024, I think it’s safe to say we need to continue to share these reminders, these demonstrations of our attempts to be true and authentic to ourselves as we journey on.

Otherwise, just like the smokey mirror, we’re going to lose sight of what our truth really is. And now, just as importantly as it might have been for Herrick in the 17th century, Whitman in the 19th, or Speare in the 20th (or you and me in the 21st), we need to keep reminding ourselves and the rest of the world that our authentic attempts at living authentically matter for a better today as much as they matter for a better tomorrow – for you, for me, for all of us.