Authenticity
Your authenticity is all that matters, everything else is fake news
As wise members of the unconventional flock, we know that our own reality is often not as glamorous as the augmented states of others that surround us every day; it’s hard to identify what really qualifies as genuine and authentic versus the fake news, even more so, to stand out against it, day in, day out.
The temptation to enhance, embolden and photoshop ourselves to almost a counterfeit, imitative state should be relatively simple to resist, given that it is our own authenticity that brought us here as substack writers and readers; we should be well enough equipped to navigate the sea of fake to find and consume the content that matters most; but as a non fiction writer I find it difficult to avoid occasional lapses of vision through fog-tinted goggles; their lure can sometimes be overpowering, especially at this time of year.
An authenticity check is therefore required, leafing through diaries and notebooks and using real images from the month of January soon brings me back to earth with a resounding thump.
Last night, Öve the working cocker ate my beloved Mont Blanc wallet, I don’t know what possessed him, he’s six years old, not a puppy, the wallet has been around for fourteen years; it’s perhaps a sign; leather is becoming a fetish for that dog; hang on to your pencil cases!
Today is the anniversary of Kay’s mums death in 2015, nine years ago, Beryl would have been 86; and in 11 days its the 10th anniversary of my dad’s passing - Steve, he would have been 87 this year. January seems to be a bad month for life and death, consuming me every year with another birthday at a time of inevitably feeling at the lowest point of the year that lies ahead.
I have succumbed to my annual bout of flu; sitting here feeling terrible, I am thankful to Nigel Slater for his beautifully crafted chronicles on how to eat my toast and jam, even more thankful for the steaming hot lemon drink and less so, the vigorous blowing of my nose, each rasp delivering a searing pain behind my eyes; like I said, its not glamorous, buy it is authentic.
I know I am lucky, this illness will pass, and when it does, I will still be here, and in time, shall be back to the great outdoors; back to Saltburn-by-the-Sea and walking in frosty fields with our dogs; doing what we always do; and as the year unfolds, you will no doubt feel the same; leading your own life with your own values; doing the things you always enjoy the most.
Because you are authentic.
So I am here on substack only as an experiment to tell my story ‘You Can Do Anything’ by being honest as a novice non fiction writer to try and grow a flock of individuals with similar interests and issues; who are their true selves, away from all the usual channels that seem to be populated almost exclusively with those that are anything but genuine.
An authentic space is needed for authentic individuals - and that to me is where substack sits for now, and lets hope, for good - I guess a number of you will already be thinking the ‘original’ or ‘true’ substack is already going the way of other channels; begging the question, is anyone really ever truly authentic when writing about their own experience?
Yes.
Your story is exactly that, yours; you don’t need to invent a different version of it for somebody else to consume via a different lens; being authentic comes naturally, the outpourings of writing being the very definition of authenticity.
Authentic; definition -
of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine
According to Google and Oxford Languages; similar words would be genuine, original, real, actual, bona fide, true or veritable
All great words but not the killer word - authentic, it has a ring to it, and that would explain why it was also apparently the ‘Top Word of 2023’ according to the American Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, as the word “Authentic” was searched for online in the US more than any other word in 2023.
Fuelled by an insatiable appetite for understanding the difference between real events and fake claims; it seems that the need to be authentic in this fake world is greater than ever….
Let’s hope it stays that way.
Keep on writing, keep creating, be authentic and tell your story; you can do anything.
Finishing note:
This piece was not for LinkedIn or selling stuff or bragging about business (I may do that next week), no, this piece was about being authentic and being your real self and telling your true story. Thanks for reading!
Next Week: Join the Rawvolution
You can do anything armed with a second-hand mincer
Hi Chris. I think there's probably a difference between navigating the authentic out there, and the authentic "in here," internally. Staying connected to who we are as who we are changes is a challenge in itself. Thanks for posting.