Guest Author - Tara Sullivan

In order to be an authentic human being, a person must not define herself by the roles she plays within social institutions. An individual can only be authentic while transcending her attachment to these social roles and by embracing the freedom to choose who she becomes. Living authentically means rejecting conformity to worldly institutions and truly looking within.

Embracing your inherent freedom to choose is a major step in being authentic. We must realize that we create our selves and in doing so, influence the path of our lives. We control our lives. We must reflect upon the reasons for the choices we make. We must question authority, even reality. If we want to live an authentic life, we can’t take the easy way out. We cannot simply make choices because it’s what our families or society tells us is the right thing to do.

For example, a young woman goes to school to become a nurse because she wants to help the sick, the old, the suffering. When becomes older she realizes that she might have had other choices if she hadn’t been so quick to conform to what her parents, teachers and society wanted her to do. They held the old-fashioned belief that women become nurses,teachers, and housewives, while men hold greater positions of power. Men do the “real work,” according to her family’s perspective. She could have chosen to work harder, to fight the sexist dogma that still exists in the medical profession and almost every other one. But said nurse gets a double whammy from her religious culture because being a nurse is thought to be a noble career where she can cultivate humility and selflessness and therefore be a good person. Additionally, to desire to be the doctor instead of the nurse, would mean that she was being power-hungry and greedy, therefore, a bad person.

What makes her life so inauthentic is the fact that her choices are being dictated to her by others. Her role as nurse was one she took because it was safe and it was expected of her. Her lack of reflection and therefore her lack of a true commitment to her choice makes her life inauthentic. If she really wanted to be a doctor, but instead became a nurse because it was the easiest route, her role as nurse is an inauthentic one.

We are all said nurse, or have been in some situation in our life, and we should be outraged by all the conformity, superficiality and objectification we have allowed to kill our souls, and let our authentic selves burst forth and embrace the freedom to choose. If I decide to be a homeless bum, and this is a conscious, authentic choice, then lets celebrate! If I make the choice consciously, and take full responsibility for my choice, then I own the role of homeless bum and I am living authentically for better or worse. If I can blame my situation on outside influences, I am being inauthentic.

If I go to church every Sunday because preacher Bob says I’ll go to hell if I don’t, I might want to rethink my reasons for playing it safe. My faith is inauthentic if it is dictated to me or inspired by fear. My faith is authentic when I choose it and own it. An authentic life is one characterized by exhilaration, freedom and engagement. It’s time to start taking risks. It’s time to start being real(alized).