Authenticity versus fake news.

In this age of the drive for the perfect public face, how can we be authentic as we live? How do we not become our own fake news?

Is it perfection that draws others to us, or does it drive them resolutely away? To be able to identify with someone else, we must, I believe, be able to see something in the other that resounds with us, a kind of mirror image. So if we are honest, not just about our successes, but also about our struggles, then we will experience more authentic relationships.

On the flip side when we idolise people we look to them for inspiration, but woe betide them if they turn out to be fraudulent. We want to identify with those we revere but it is dependent on honest openness, to be discovered as living a lie can be very damaging. It can push them off the pedestal that we had placed them on: they have been found out as fake news; displaying a more acceptable self than their authentic self.

However this doesnt mean that mistakes are not allowed, no, we like the reality of mistakes, but we cant stand deception can we?

So vulnerability, sharing our shame is not something to baulk at after all. Ultimately we all want to belong and it is our vulnerability that links us, as opposed to a shiny flawless image.

So here is the newsflash!

Be yourself; honest, truthful, warts and all. That is the only way to live and experience connection. Love honestly, truthfully with all your heart, and then you will experience the connection that we all crave.