Seeking Authenticity In An Ever-Changing Heart
Authenticity
In a world that changes, a mind that changes, and a body that changes, how do we stay true to ourselves? How do we even know what is true to ourselves when all we know for certain is that change is inevitable?
It sounds quite complicated really- and the truth is, being authentic to yourself is something to take heavily and with a grain of salt all in one.
So how do I explain this in a way that makes sense… Basically, we are ourselves. We are the only person we will ever be. And while there are some grounding things that we can’t change like our environment and experiences that life has bestowed upon us, we ourselves change every single day. We see tragedy that tugs our heart towards a new cause, we fall into something that suddenly becomes the career we never expected but fits us perfectly. We are constantly being shaped, learning new things, shifting our opinions and beliefs.
So then how do we authentically live life in an ever-shifting narrative?
Authenticity is equivalent to trust in my experience; it measures up someones inner character.
So if I were to make a commitment to show up to work from 9am-5pm for 5 days a week but I only showed up on days where I felt like it, I’d probably get fired.
If I made a promise to do something for someone and I never did it, they would not trust me to the task again.
If I walk around talking about Jesus and preaching the gospel but then I shut the door in people’s face when they have more questions, I would not be living authentically.
Authenticity is actions. It is following up your words with proof. It’s the person who says they will be there for you if you need something and actually is.
Authenticity grows with us. We learn about ourselves, cement our values and beliefs, and constantly journey to find what we are created for. We become more authentic as more and more of this picture of our lives is painted.
I’ve been prompted to answer the question of how to remain authentic while pursuing an artist career in the public eye.
While a lot of things go into that, here are the main ones for me:
Loyalty. Never leave anyone behind. I find that when I pour my time into freshman as an upperclassman, purpose is revealed to me. When I uplift people who are currently in struggles that I have overcome, I am able to turn tragedy into blessing . When someone helps me to get to the next level in my career or writing, I try to honor them. When someone is kind to me, I plug them in to whatever I can.
Make humility a priority. Any one of us could be the next big thing and acting like you’re better than any situation or any other person will bite you very hard. But that’s a selfish reasoning; you should be humble for the sake of your own soul. Because comparison steals your confidence, joy, and artistic spirit. It molds you into things that aren’t true to you and, therefore, makes you inauthentic. Which is sniffed out very quickly in the music industry.
Don’t only be happy for others when they succeed, but help them to succeed if at all possible. When a gig opportunity pops up and you’re busy, direct them to people you love and trust to get the job done well. When you meet someone who can’t really help you with what you do, but you know someone they could help, plug them in. Talk to people, care about them, get to know them. Because the better you do, the better you can support them.
Whether you make it big or not, none of these things should ever leave you. I could go on; there are many more things I could say. So if you think I left out any other critical traits, I’d love to hear from you!
In my journey, I found Christ deeply when I was six. I realized that death would happen, people would be evil, I would be rejected, and that I had absolutely no control over anything. Which was no fun to know at that age but also not uncommon. So in the midst of all of that causing sever panic attacks, depression, and OCD, I realized that trust in Christ was the only thing I could count on and the only real aid to my outlook on life. And so I’ve grown up with the unexplainable privilege of checking and balancing my character with God through prayer. (This is a topic I will dive into much more deeply in coming weeks.)
I don’t think that I would have become the person I am without that. And honestly, I am so far from perfect. I am even far from authentic. But I seek awareness through my faith and constantly challenge myself and those around me to grow. And to also hold me accountable.
This concept goes much deeper than I am tapping into here, but for the purposes of respecting your time, I will leave it with this:
Authenticity is usually nothing like what you think it should look like. Pulling the truth in your heart away from its selfish desires, wants, and temptations is near impossible. We are tricked into thinking that those things define our authentic self when they do not. In fact, we are called to deny our true selves by Jesus Christ. And in doing this, we actually end up seeking our truest self by allowing him to come in and reveal to us exactly what it means to bear his image and not the world’s image…
Authenticity is to model Christ in whom we’ve been created to reflect.
Will we ever do this perfectly? No. But we can sure try our best!
If you would like to dig more into this concept, please message me in the contact section!
I hope all of you have had a nice week. Until next time,
-Lexi Cummings 10/6/19 https://linktr.ee/lexigailmusic
