AUTHENTICITY

A series of essays.....

 CACTUS GROWING IN THE 'OLD CITY' OF
EYGALIERES, PROVENCE, FRANCE

.....as seen through my eyes!




 Nature is the purest form of God's gift of 'authenticity' that we will, as intelligent human beings, be able to site as a perfect example of what the future holds in store for us. Let's not screw it up!   JEH

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Authenticity is the quality of being trustworthy and genuine and something each one of us should strive for every day of our lives. Some of us do. Many of us make an honest attempt at it. And, only a few of us accomplish this goal that is, of course, provided we care about doing so in the first place. It may require some hard work and effort on our part. Our desire to be unburdened by daily conflict and the disagreement over fundamental issues often supersedes the basic qualities of honesty, clarity, and trustworthiness.

VIEW FROM THE ANCIENT HILLTOP
CITY OF EYGALIERES, FRANCE

Relationships suffer greatly when we fail to incorporate personal authenticity into the equation and treat a friend, lover, parent, child, or spouse as if their life is less important than our own. By not being honest and forthright with them about everything we experience and believe in serves to negate our own importance and relinquishes any reliability we may have hoped to create and achieve within the relationship. 

THE PICTURESQUE
ALPILLES HILLS OF FRANCE

It is not unreasonable to set-up personal boundaries in order to temporarily cope with basic negativity, pain, bullying, marital infidelity, or the physical loss of someone we hold so dear to our hearts. In fact, it is only natural that the mind, our search engine for the body and soul, is prepared to report reliable information to us so that our human psyche is less likely to break down completely or implode. 

OLIVE GROVE
GORDES, FRANCE

Stepping back from behind these boundaries, eventually, is mandatory if we are to become the authentic human being we hope to be. With so much noise and indeterminate amounts of facts and non-truths assaulting our personal space every day, stepping back from behind our comfort zone can be a difficult task. We can set our own pace, however, we must not lose sight of how important it is to succeed if we intend to pursue all of the joy that life has to offer. Fear paralyzes our genuine thoughts and places hopes and dreams in jeopardy. Clinging to the imaginary walls we choose to hide behind weakens our ability to showcase the unique purpose of our life that generously flows within all of us. Fear can slowly corrupt the individual power we are born with that strengthens and supports our success in life.

PATH OVERLOOKING A
BULLFIGHTING ARENA NEAR
FOOTHILLS OF THE ALPILLES HILLS
 

Learning to be honest with ourselves is the first step in becoming whole; being truthful is a major priority in being able to handle all that life has to throw at us along this amazing, crazy journey. We must learn to break away from the heavy drama we've placed ourselves in and come to terms with what is important to us: We need to be willing to hear what we too often don't want to hear. We must be prepared to be able to say what we need to say. Most importantly, we must be willing to just let go.....if need be. 

THE LUBERON RANGE
SOUTH OF GORDES, FRANCE

In an age of ingenuous governing, false hopes and promises, and, dare I say it, fake news thrown at us left and right, the unhealthy lack of a positive role model and absolute truth compounds our daily problems and experiences. Making the decisive choice to care about ourselves and others is strictly up to us. We can't always impede the progress of 'crazy' but we can, definitely, sort it out within our own mind, make mature decisions, and inform others about the importance of being true to yourself.

A FRIEND IN THE LUBERON

Possessing the ability to be able to forgive others whom you may believe harmed or upset you is another quality or condition of being authentic and true to yourself. Forgiveness of others with the attempt at understanding that not everyone follows your own personal codes of what is believed to be right and wrong, will help complete us as human beings in so many intricate and beautiful ways. After all, we share the space created for us here on Earth with so many others that it would be virtually impossible to believe we are not different, to a certain degree, from one another. 

VIEW OF MONT VENTOUX FROM
THE NEARBY TOWN OF BEDOIN

When someone apologizes to you for an action that is perceived by you to be hurtful....you must know that they have opened-up their heart and soul to you in a most private and profound manner. They have authenticated their actions through humbleness and truth and become vulnerable souls subject to your response and subsequent actions. Even though you may feel strong and powerful while holding the emotions of others in your hand like the open book they've become, the misuse of this power will only serve to create stronger barriers of discontent and mistrust between you. You must ask yourself if losing the bond of understanding between the two of you is something you can afford to live with the rest of your life!

SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER
IN THE HEART OF THE CAMARGUE

In the words of Brené Brown, author of 'Daring Greatly,' "Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are." We must remember that we were born to be honest and real....not perfect. Learning to live with this thought in mind as a personal caveat, may we be authentic enough to be able to acknowledge this in others, as well.

ROLLING VINEYARD LOCATED
BETWEEN CARCASSONNE AND
PIEUSSE, FRANCE

FRUIT OF THE VINE

Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

All Photos Copyright © by Jacqueline E. Hughes

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