Brilliant! I love that perspective although I've never thought of authenticity as a vocation.
I still think authenticity is about weirdness (tweeted few times about it today, and will probably write an essay about it), but now maybe I should look at it as "discovering your own weirdness"? Because if something is called truly authentic, it must be different, unique in a way. So many people will inevitably perceive it as weird.
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This one is my favourite part:
"The authentic self has no final form or destination. It does not hide behind a grand or storied revelation. It is perennially incomplete. A constant work in progress. It exists only in its unfinished state. "
It's interesting to see "authenticity" as a process with no end. This is particularly interesting if we define it this way. So "authenticity" is not a state or your "voice"/"style"/etc but a journey, your unique way of living and doing things and expressing it in art forms. What do you think?
Thanks so much John! And I completely agree that there is a certain strangeness/weirdness to authenticity because it is in itself such an intimate experience that has been paddled in the media as an achievable quality or trait.
You’ve brilliantly summarised it by referring to it as a journey of sorts...that’s how I’ve come to understand the concept.
Authenticity is perhaps less tangible than we make it out to be; it is not a landmark moment as such but a constant life project that operates in the background of our everyday rituals.
I am really looking forward to reading your essay on the subject. It’s an intriguing field of inquiry! :)
An exceptionally deep and extensive discussion of "being authentic", particularly in relation to thought processes of one's life. It is a marvel that you have encapsulated such complex thought processes in this one article. Thank you for writing yet another fabulously thought provoking article, as always.
Brilliant! I love that perspective although I've never thought of authenticity as a vocation.
I still think authenticity is about weirdness (tweeted few times about it today, and will probably write an essay about it), but now maybe I should look at it as "discovering your own weirdness"? Because if something is called truly authentic, it must be different, unique in a way. So many people will inevitably perceive it as weird.
--
This one is my favourite part:
"The authentic self has no final form or destination. It does not hide behind a grand or storied revelation. It is perennially incomplete. A constant work in progress. It exists only in its unfinished state. "
It's interesting to see "authenticity" as a process with no end. This is particularly interesting if we define it this way. So "authenticity" is not a state or your "voice"/"style"/etc but a journey, your unique way of living and doing things and expressing it in art forms. What do you think?
Cheers,
John
Thanks so much John! And I completely agree that there is a certain strangeness/weirdness to authenticity because it is in itself such an intimate experience that has been paddled in the media as an achievable quality or trait.
You’ve brilliantly summarised it by referring to it as a journey of sorts...that’s how I’ve come to understand the concept.
Authenticity is perhaps less tangible than we make it out to be; it is not a landmark moment as such but a constant life project that operates in the background of our everyday rituals.
I am really looking forward to reading your essay on the subject. It’s an intriguing field of inquiry! :)
An exceptionally deep and extensive discussion of "being authentic", particularly in relation to thought processes of one's life. It is a marvel that you have encapsulated such complex thought processes in this one article. Thank you for writing yet another fabulously thought provoking article, as always.
Thanks! This one took a bit of planning and it was something I always wanted to write about but never got around to. :)