Authentic living

Live authentically and feel the difference.

Will the real you, please stand up.

I woke up this morning thinking about being authentic. For me, being authentic means trusting the voice inside of me and being confident to follow the guidance I receive. As a fiction writer, I have voices going around in my head all the time, and sometimes it is difficult to discern the voice of authority that I should follow. I'm sure you have these voices inside you, too.

I admire young people who listen to their own voice. Some have taken up the call to travel overseas living a nomadic lifestyle so that they can learn about the world and themselves. This is authenticity. They are willing to take a risk following their desires and dreams to see where it will lead them.

Are you trying to be someone you aren't? Not everyone is meant to be a doctor, a plant operator, an accountant, digital nomad, a research scientist, or doing one of a thousand other jobs available in the world. Basically, our profession is dependent on our personality style, our dreams, our natural abilities, and skills that we have learned in life so far.

I used to be an accountant, but working with numbers never quite resonated with me. However, it served me well until a rumbling started inside of me and it grew until it affected every part of my life, including my personal and work relationships. Eventually, unable to stand the discontent any more, I got the courage to really listen to the voice inside of me.

The thing that was holding me back was me! I was insecure about my abilities. After much discussion with my authentic voice, I found my passion is to write and to encourage others on their life's journey. Making the change wasn't easy. That's the subject of another post. I am now living in my authentic self, and every day, my writer's shirt is getting to be a better fit. A force much bigger than I will ever be is at work in me helping me understand who I am and how to wear that writer's shirt.

Your rumbling could also take the form of a romantic relationship that isn't working; a work colleague and you having differences; or the production line you go to every day is driving you crazy with its same old, same old and you can't see anything different in the foreseeable future if you stay there.

Listen to the disquiet inside of you. Your higher source is telling you to move on, to be truthful to yourself and your life's calling. Don't be afraid of change. Do something to make the change you crave so that you can be yourself and not live that lie any longer.

In my latest novel due for release on 3 April 2016, Kate's Choice, Kate is unsettled in her life with Dusty. When she was nineteen she made a choice from her ego, not her authentic self. Eleven years later, she is paying the price for not being true to herself. She's unhappy and wants her life to change. For Kate, fate steps in and her life takes a major turn. 

Unfortunately, in real life, we sometimes have to take fate into our own hands to change our lives. Are you courageous enough to take charge of your life to be your authentic and creative self, so that you can get the contentment and happiness you crave?

Make a conscious effort to work toward your authentic self today and point yourself to a life that is true for you. You may not want to be a writer, but there is an idea smoldering in you that needs to be set on fire. Identify your calling, be brave and go for it with all that you are. Let me know in the comments below what your passion is. I love to hear from you and help you take hold of that authentic dream.

Making A Difference ...

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I've been grieving the loss of my brother. There's a hole in my life now where he used to be, and in the lives of all who knew him. Don's character is a precious memory I will call on if I ever have to be reminded what a man with integrity looks like. Don was three years older than me, but he taught me so much about integrity, loyalty and love.

Don's passing has made me think a lot about how easy it is to take our family and friends for granted. My life choice forced me to live an hour and a half flight away from him and his family, but I tried to keep in contact often. Was it enough? Could I have given up some of the busyness of my life to spend more time together? I wish I had shared more time with him, and on a deeper level than I did.

These thoughts have been tossed about in my mind for the past three weeks. I've come to realise our lives aren't only about our blood relations. If living near Don and his family was God's purpose for my life, I would have been there. God has a different purpose for me, and I'm not sure if I've even worked out what that is, but I believe he's teaching me community is what life is about.

As an adult I'm responsible for more than just my siblings and my immediate family. God has put me in community to help me understand everyone has a life journey and that life journey is different for each of us. The events of my journey have made me the person I am today, and there is no changing that, but I can change my behaviours for the future.

Through my experiences I'm able to help others who may be experiencing something of what I've been through. I come alongside and encourage and lift them up so they can continue on knowing someone else has also been there. They are not alone!

Community is about connection with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and also those in my community who don't know him, but need him in their lives.

Don served in the police force for 37 years. He was a man of integrity - a man people could trust to do a job properly. He possessed a strong sense of community and always wanted his community to be safe for his family, friends, and people he didn't know. On the beat and off the beat his integrity never wavered, but what I loved about him the most was his quirky sense of humour. He was able to blend integrity with humour. Ever since I can remember he loved playing tricks on people to make them think about what they were doing. He was a gifted man who knew how to sneak up on people in a imaginative way and get them to change their behaviour without them knowing .

Is this something we can add to our every day lives to make a difference in someone's life? Add humour, live with integrity and influence people in some small way without them knowing you're behind them giving them a gentle nudge in the right direction on their own journey?

I believe Don's subtle way of reaching people through humour, love and understanding has merit. I hope I can include those qualities in my everyday life to help others smile on their bleak days, encourage them that life happens and can be tough sometimes, but with God's unconditional love we will get through the darkness and back into the light, and be wiser for the experience.

Thank you, Don, for your loving contribution to my life, and the wisdom you've passed to me. I hope I can pass some of that wisdom and sense of fun to my community for the rest of the time God has portioned for me for this life here on earth.