Finding Authenticity

Over the course of my life there have been times when I have not lived an authentic life. I chose instead to try to be who others wanted me to be or thought I should be and I became caught up in a distorted life instead of an authentic one. What authenticity means is living with one's self and others in such a way that you remain exactly who you are and true to what you hold most dear. To live otherwise, as I have done, is to live in a near constant state of dissatisfaction and fear. With dissatisfaction and fear there is suffering. And, the suffering we experience when living at odds with what is authentically us spills over onto those around usy making their lives ones of dissatisfaction and fear as well.  That is not how we are taught by the Buddha to live. Stephen Batchelor puts it this way, "the turning point from inauthenticity to authenticity is comprised of an experiential recognition and acceptance of the fundamental character of our being which we have been previously evading and distorting".  Our challenge is to face that authenticity and find the courage to live it moment to moment, day to day, year to year. It is part of our path and commitment to work for the cessation of suffering.