On Being Authentic Or Salted Caramels & Cheesy Pizza Dip

Twice in a week, I found myself extremely irritated to be eating something that had been labeled one thing that clearly was another.

One item was labeled Salted Caramels and the other was a Cheesy Pizza Dip.

One afternoon, I was steaming about it all, until I realized that the reason I was so affected by it was because they weren’t being authentic.

They both had been pretending to be something they weren’t. And nothing irks me more then inauthenticity.

Salted Caramels were really just fruit and nuts. And the cheesy dip was potato based and tasted nothing like cheese or pizza.

And the thing is, that while neither tasted like the thing they were trying to be, each was super yummy in it’s own right. Afraid to be what it really was and instead trying to be something that it wasn’t.

I think this point is one that I’m really passionate about for every being. In the search to figure out who you are, sometimes you just need to be a poor version of yourself then to pretend to be something you are not.

I’m not advocating that this is easy, as I’ve sat in many uncomfortable versions of myself along the way, and know that I will do it again many more times before my human journey is over.

But if we step outside our authentic selves, instead of staying the course of change, it’ll just take you longer to get where you are going. And you will fray your system from being inauthentic. 

"Better one's own Dharma imperfectly disposed than another's Dharma well-performed." Bhagavad Gita 18.47 (translation by Douglas Brooks)

One of my favorite quotes from the Bhagavad Gita and one that I try to remember often along my path.

Connecting to your authentic self is something that constantly changes as your life evolves. And who you are in any given moment and scenario can (and will) change. It’s an art to stay true to yourself and who you are.

And it’s more of a dance then an endpoint. (See Getting Comfortable With The Uncomfortable)

Back to those inauthentic, metaphoric snacks. They were definitely trying to perform something else’s role and not even doing a good job at that! And while that wasn’t a salted caramel, but indeed a tasty fruit and nutty treat, I would have appreciated it telling me so from the beginning instead of being frustrated with believing I was getting one thing but instead getting another.

So show up as your fruity, nutty self if that's who you are. Otherwise be a salted caramel. :) You know. Or whatever you really are right now.

When do you find it hardest to stay in your authentic self? Share below.

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