Being Real, Living Authentically

Lately, I've been in some discussions
about
Being Real
and what that means
with my family
and my friends.

I like to keep things real.
Not pessimistic.
Not negative.
But real
for sure.

Being real
to me,
means acknowledging
the cloudy rainy days
in my life
as well as the
brilliant blue sky days.

I've been thru enough trials in my life
that I know
NOONE
has a perfect life.

And when I was younger
I didn't know this.
I thought I had an
invisible standard to live up to...
an unspoken rule
that if people really knew the truth--
that my kids,
as much as I love them with all of my heart
and devote every waking minute of my life
to their happiness,



were sometimes chaotic
enough to make me
wanna jump on a bus,
find out what tequila is,
and disappear into the sunset.,
that if I wasn't really June Cleaver,
I wouldn't make the cut.

I didn't want people to know
that my  first marriage
wasn't sunshine and roses.
That's really embarrassing,
to admit that
the person I chose to spend my life with,
didn't feel the same way.
And when I filed for divorce,
it caught alot of people
off guard.

But guess what, chicken butt?
I lived.
And I made better choices.
I knew
what I didn't want.
And I tell my kids all the time that
knowing what you don't want,
is just as important
as knowing what you do.

I believe that when we
give the impression
that we've got it all under effortless control,
or that our lives are just perfect,
we are a huge disservice to others.
Not that we have to wear our troubles
and/or hearts on our sleeves
but for crying-out-loud
be real.
There are people I know
whom I think are waiting for someone to
give them permission to just be real.
Be themselves.

We are here on this earth to learn.
And we only have
each other to learn from,
in this Laboratory of Life.
Don't ya love it when others share their "findings"--
what works and what doesn't?
If I find the cure-all for colic,
moody teenagers,
and
grumpy sweethearts--
it serves me to share it with you too.

Noone wants to spin their wheels
in quicksand
if there's a bridge or another way
to get around
their challenges.

We all have hopes
that pull at our heart strings
and we have all been
sorely disappointed along the
journey
at some point...
we have this much in common,
right?

I have been blessed
in that while I have known
some forms of heartache,
I am a stranger to some others...
I don't know how it feels to lose a child
or a close family member.
I don't know the intimacies of terminal diseases.
I was not born in poverty.
There are maladies I have not been
required to endure
and for that I am grateful.

The trials and adversity I have
known
taught me
compassion for trials
I have not.

We've so much to learn
from each other...
and the *best kindness* we can extend
is to be
real
in whatever it is
we share about ourselves.
To do otherwise
is such a waste of time
and effort
in the lab.
And labs are built to gleen results,
not fake,
pretend
wishy-washy
fairy-tale
wanna-be
coulda
shoulda
woulda
results.

But the real deal.
The facts.
And the fact is this:
Life is a trial.
We are here to be tried and tested
and within the law of free agency
do our best to live the commandments
and learn to keep our promises.
It rains on the just and the unjust.
But just like Sr. Beck says,
--though we may have disappointments in life,
we will not be disappointed in ourselves if we do our best.
(And I'm just gonna assume you're doing the best you can.)

AND
Life is beautiful
and magical
and wonderful
and I am so entirely grateful to be here.

I think it's called Living Authentically.
At least, that's what I'm calling it.



What about you?
What are your thoughts about this???


Authentic:

1. The quality of being genuine or not corrupted from the original.
   

   I hereby certify that this is an authentic copy.










2. Truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, and intentions.
   

   The painting was not authentic after all; it was just a copy.

Synonyms

• (quality of being genuine): genuineness

Antonyms

• (quality of not being genuine): phoniness; forgery; fakeness; bogosity