The Age of Authenticity

Authenticity: (Noun) The quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine

While New Years Resolutions are a good guide or map as to the direction in which you want to travel in the following year, they are often so discrete that they don't give much room to move. You're either 'doing it' or you're 'not doing it' ... in which case often before the end of January the gym membership is already gathering cobwebs in your wallet/purse, the fridge is full of chocolate again, or in a weak moment you've had a cigarette/fought with your sibling ... you get the gist.

I've always liked to set resolutions that could be built on over time, some that were achieveable in the immediate term, some in the short term, others in the long term. After all - you dont just build a house ... foundations need to be laid, a structure erected so and so forth. Small victories lead in to larger ones further down the track.

This year rather than scribe a massive list of things that I want to do, achieve, give up etc ... I've picked a theme - authenticity. It's a term that seems to be appearing more and more often in my thoughts and my personal writing. I want to be authentic to myself this year - to my character, to my family, to my idiosyncracies, to my ethics and morals, to my dreams and ambitions, to my mind and body, to my feelings and emotions ... and more importantly to my soul.

To begin walking a path of authenticity, I've realised that there is much that I need to shed from the past few years. This wont be a process that will be totally complete by Chinese New Year (7th February) but while the moon is waning* its time for me to consider what needs to be let go of ... and not just in terms of responsiblities, work committments, but in terms of ego ... what I need to relinquish or at least identify within me that no longer works.

Anger keeps bubbling up ... which reminds me that part of being authentic is acknowledging and working with my shadow self. This is a challenge as its socially sanctioned to keep these negative sides of ourselves underwraps. But I think that I am ready and willing to rise to this challenge.

If you could bless your coming year with a one word theme, what would it be?

*the waning moon phase is a time of decay, and a returning to the earth. It's a good time to dispose, shed or bid farewell to anything that is not currently working in your life. It's what helps to lay fertile ground (think of a compost!) for the coming month. It's also a great time to weed your garden, give your pets a flea treatment, etc.