A Publication of Lighthouse Consulting Services

How often have you ever said or thought… “Get real”.  What a challenge those set of words can conjure up in one’s mind.  Being authentic can bring a number of mixed messages based on what we base our sense of reality on.  One of the definitions for “authenticity” includes “genuineness or truth of something”. For example, a genuine book is that which was written by the person whose name it bears along with relating information as to what really happened.

What are we being genuine or authentic to?  When we search for the authentic self or request others to “get real”, what are we truly requesting?  Are we asking others to view life as we do, and then that would then usher in “reality” into their life?  That may be the case in some situations.  However, if we are not offering some level of empathic understanding in our daily walk, what kind of connection are we making with others? Whose book are we requesting others to accept as the “genuine” way to “be”?

Viktor Frankel was a psychiatrist and a survivor as a prisoner of war in several Nazi concentration camps.  He wrote a number of books about his experiences and the search for the meaning of life.  One of his observations I found to be very interesting and wanted to share it:

“Therefore man is originally characterized by his “search for meaning” rather than his “search for himself”.  The more one forgets oneself - giving oneself to a cause or another person - the more “human” he is.  And the more one is immersed and absorbed in something or someone other than oneself, the more he really becomes “himself’.  Just consider a child who, absorbed in play, forgets himself - this is the moment to take a snapshot.  When you wait until he notices that you are taking a picture, his face congeals and freezes, showing his unnatural self-consciousness rather than his natural graciousness. Why do most people have the stereotyped expression on their faces whenever they are photographed?

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