Ripples #938: Authentic Choices!
May 15, 2017
PEBBLE
Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins that may buy you just a moment of pleasure, but then drag you for days like a broken man behind a farting camel.
-Hafiz, shared by Leslie in Madison, WI
BOULDER
Authenticity is not something we have or don’t have. It’s a practice–a conscious choice of how we want to live. Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.
-Brené Brown, shared by Loreal in Corpus Christi, TX
PONDER
Yeah, I know. You’re still thinking about farting camels. Me too.
If we can momentarily move beyond the stench of smelly dromedaries, I think it’s worth being curious about “counterfeit coins;” the things we focus on and the choices we’re making that don’t reflect our highest intentions or the versions of our best selves that we want to bring to our daily lives. Sometimes it’s because we’re following someone else’s lead and they are going in a direction that doesn’t suit us well; other times its that we’ve shifted into automatic pilot and failed to notice the negative consequences.
As we recognize these choices aren’t useful, or have more costs than benefits, we can more consciously choose options that are better suited, and ultimately more authentic to our values and our lives. Happy choosing!
Peace,
Paul
The Ripples Guy
p.s. I’ll be on retreat in July, so I’m working on several upcoming issues of Ripples to make sure I have a full month’s worth of inspiration to Ripple out while I’m offline. You can help by submitting a really good quote you’ve come across recently: https://theripplesguy.com/submit-quote/
