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“Stories and the telling of them, bring us closer to our own soul.”
– Clarissa Estes
Definition:
Authenticity – the quality of being authentic.
“The paper should have established the authenticity of the documents before publishing them”
Synonyms: genuineness, bona fides, legitimacy, legality, validity
The authenticity of the painting”
Reliability, dependability, trustworthiness, credibility;
Accuracy, truth, veracity, fidelity
“The authenticity of this account”
Authenticity is the act of being authentic or of being the true self. However, authenticity is not usually instantly obtained as it is part of a hands-on process of self-discovery or being handmade. This process may be one of a labor of love or one of figuring out many times over that something is not you, and moving on to find the thing that is.
Body Location: Our Bones, Solar Plexus, Soul, Skin “comfortable in your own skin”
Our bones are ours. Maybe they are similar to others, but our bones that we sing to life are ours. They are getting down to what matters and those bare bones are where we bare our soul and find authenticity.
Some Possible Stories: La Loba, The Red Shoes, Sealskin / Soulskin, The Ugly Duckling
Warnings of authenticity: The Red Shoes (addiction), Bluebeard or Sly Mr. Fox (see betrayal)
Compassion, Acknowledgement, and Healing:
Authenticity is a process that isn’t instant.
The hard work of a handmade life is known by your hands.
STORIES:
Singing your bones to life. Searching and doing the work of finding that part of yourself that is yours and that is ancient. The process is not instant and the process of collecting can be dirty if not painful. Some bones are easier to collect than others.
The first pair of Red Shoes was made by hand by many pieces collected over time and sewn together. After the shoes were burned, the desire for this representation of the handmade shoes grew. The bought red shoes gave some satisfaction but eventually not only didn’t replace the initial shoes, but the obsession with doing so controlled her life.
We cannot live fully outside of our soul and authentic life. If we do not visit that place enough, we will become dried out and it will be difficult to see. Exploration of what is keeping us from visiting or returning to the authentic home of ourselves.
The Ugly Duckling
Staying true to oneself as you will find your tribe and where you belong if you continue to look.
“Since the recent election I have encountered many people, young and old, who feel deeply disheartened by all the resentment, hatred and division that have been stirred up. Many also feel discouraged by all the false promises, “fake news” and betrayals of the public trust. Amidst the distribution of outright lies, I keep thinking of an old story from India about the spread of poison and the need to tell the truth.
The tale begins when a child, playing with a ball, is bitten by a poisonous snake. By the time the parents arrive the venom has spread, leaving the little one unconscious. With no doctor near, they carry the child to a local monk and implore the holy man to save the youngster. The monk declares that he is not the kind of religious person who knows how to heal.
The parents pleaded that someone on a spiritual path must have the power to perform an act of truth that could reverse the course of the poison. Saying that he only knew the truth of his own life, the monk placed his hand upon the child’s head. He then revealed that he had long before lost any sense of true holiness and only kept up a saintly appearance. No sooner had this act of truth been made than the eyes of the child opened again.
The holy man insisted that the father use his power to tell the truth to remove more poison. With his hands on his child’s chest, the father confessed that though widely respected and envied for his wealth and position, he never felt generous to others or fulfilled within himself. He owned that he felt empty inside despite all his power and wealth. After this act of truth the child sat up but could not stand or move from the spot.
The father asked the mother to use her power of truth to save their child. She spoke the truth she carried in her heart: that her child was the only one she had ever loved, that her marriage brought her no love and that she remained in it only out of fear. No sooner was the act of truth performed than the remaining poison left the child, who rose up and began to play with the ball again.
The child in the story can represent all the children of the future being harmed by the growing poisons in the present culture. The ball can represent the world itself, which seems to hang in the balance between falseness and truth. In order to stop the spread of poison, the adults must come to an understanding that those who fail to act in accord with their deepest sense of self not only negate the spirit of their own lives, but also endanger others by adding to the poison in the world.”