I’ve recently come to the realization that life is about becoming the authentic you. It’s about knowing who you are and removing all that is not you, all that you accumulated along the way that is not the real you.

That is the journey.

As you think about your life, who are you?

It’s not really about all you accumulated and all you became.

All of that is for you to discover who you are.

You can choose from the buffet of life’s possibilities to come to some conclusions about what is real for you.

I don’t know about you but I thought life was about achieving. Gaining my degrees, my jobs, my family, my relationships, etc.

Yes, that is a pathway to finding yourself and discovering who you are. Who you authentically are.

Not the job or financial status. Not the accomplishments. Not what your parents, church or society wanted from you.

But, who are you? What matters to you? At your core?

As A Course in Miracles teaches, everything is love or a call for love.

Think about your path from the perspective of “Love.” Ask yourself lots of reflective questions. Think about all that has happened to you in your life through the decades.

How did your experiences help you get closer to LOVE?

Which ones challenged you to show more LOVE?

What has torn you open to be more LOVE?

How much do you love yourself? Or were you taught and still thinking that it is selfish talk?

How are you making choices based on what you LOVE, not others?

I know choosing things for me has been a long journey. I thought I was to please my family, church, and society. Do the right thing and follow the rules. Be the good girl. Oh, yes, I have chosen another road or ten from there, helping me decide what was right for me. All helping clarify what feels good to me. Good to live in peace and contentment.

But all lessons or experiences have helped me to become the authentic me. I still am pulled by wanting to please those close to me. Most of the time, it is what is right for me. I’m staying aware of when I choose for other people or purposes.

It doesn’t quite feel easy or at peace.

How authentic are you living?

Notice where you feel the most peace and love. That’s the authentic you.

Find ways that you can feel more of this, more love, joy and peace in you. Add more of those times and situations. I think about how much I loved my career in education. I gave it my all. I loved it. It was hard and stressful, but it was the best at the core. Brought more love and joy to my life. When it wasn’t, I had to look at it and see why I was off. Then, I choose how to bring myself back to these feelings of joy instead of worry or stress.

What have you done for yourself – even when others wanted something else?

Take notice of where and who is pulling you and guiding your choices rather than by you. Sometimes, the results will be the same, but make sure more of your decisions are made for you to become the most authentic you.

This topic interests me because, as I’ve read, the top things people say on their deathbed are that they wish they had lived more authentically and done more of what they wanted. I don’t want to die with the music still inside of me. I want to be at peace. I want to give all I have inside of me.

I know too many women of my generation were taught to be subservient to their spouses, losing who they were to whom their partner expected them to be.

Start paying attention to where you live for other people, circumstances or reasons.

Decide today and each day that you will make more of your choices and decisions based on what is authentic for you. Even when you notice someone might be pushing you, shift your perspective to how you can make that choice to be right for you.

The more you live in alignment with the authentic you, the more peace, joy and love you will feel and have in your life.

How can you begin today to live more authentically?