Authenticity is the Way

I have found over the years of working with people, even those who have had very deep and profound awakenings, that most people have a fear of being truthful, of really being honest—not only with others, but with themselves as well. Of course, the core of this fear is that most people know intuitively that if they were actually truthful and totally sincere and honest, they would no longer be able to control anybody.
 Adyashanti

Today I found the ‘5 months clean’ celebration of a drug addict in my inbox. Actually, it has been at least that long since I heard from her. I remember the dark days when she would celebrate the 1 month or 2 months drug free messages, only to find everything destroyed a few days later when she openly admitted to everyone that she had succumbed to the affliction once again. It seemed like this struggle would never end. We shall see whether this attempt is finally for good but what gives me hope in her case is not only her amazing persistence to turn her life around, but also her truthfulness and openness with everyone when the dark ghosts had once again gotten the better of her.

Truthfulness is the way towards enlightenment just as Adyashanti highlighted in the quote from above. I find that fighting addictions and the process of letting go of the self have a lot in common. Our ego puts up a good fight, and it is painful to again and again be taken for a ride by this institutions despite our best intentions. It is a merry-go-around game that feels familiar to anyone who battled a compulsive habit before, one day on top of the ego and the world, only to find that the next day we are out to fool ourselves once again. Authenticity is the way to succeed! Let’s stop aspiring the be someone special and then it is easy to admit to ourselves and others when we are once again all-too-human.

I have only one goal, to be as real as they come—authenticity is the Way!