Being Authentic

(photo by me )
What's on the inside???

I once watched this show they had on air a few years ago, called Starting Over, it was about women who wanted to be free from their past and embracing their present fully. So anyway, one of the women was having a hard time understanding how to be authentic. She thought about it for weeks, then one day it hit her, me being authentic is saying what I AM REALLY thinking about something.
So that got me thinking! Wow, that is so good, it's not just speaking what I think the person wants to hear, it's not guessing what the person needs to hear, it's not speaking a certain way around certain people, it's speaking in love what I really think or feel. Whether it be that I really don't like wine, or that I really really did want that person to come over and when they changed plans and did something else it did hurt, or I have a great idea that might help you, or offering you a piece of gum even though I don't know you and you might decline because you feel awkward too, or when I honestly do not know the answer to a question or am ignorant about GEOGRAPHY and the list goes on and on.

Am I really letting you see me?

I am thoroughly enjoying sharing who I am with others and finding out more of who they are too. When I was so focused on saying and doing the appropriate or right thing, I could hardly hear the other person anyway because I was so afraid of messing up. Just like when you ask someone their name and you are so busy thinking about telling your name that you don't even catch what they said, and then you feel dumb that you don't remember their name. And then the more times you see them the worse you feel for still not knowing their name, and yet you are still too afraid to let them know you don't remember because you don't want to hurt their feelings or look foolish. When in reality they are probably most likely doing the same exact thing!

It's so fun and free to just be me, and I so much more enjoy getting to know you!