December 17, 2020

uthenticity shows up in the sneakiest ways.

As @brenebrown brilliantly explains, living authentically and showing up as our true selves is not a goal with an ending. It is a collection of choices. It is something to be cultivated rather than achieved.

So, confession: I love this building. I love its grandeur and its imposing nature and the fact that it doesn’t really ‘fit in’. I love how much it contrasts with everything around it. Standing here the other day, I admitted something that feels ridiculous in hindsight: “I used to pretend to hate this building/find it ugly, cause that’s what people said to me and I never took the time to form my own opinion...”

How often do we do that in life? We hear an opinion and make it our own. We form a judgment based on what someone else says, rather than exploring our feelings on our own. We agree to the easy route of being inauthentic but agreeable without exploring the depths and layers of our own thoughts and beliefs.

My erroneous dislike of this magnificent building can be turned into an exploration of my own authenticity. It’s so easy to label “good, bad, right, wrong, pretty, ugly, likable, unlikable”.

What if we go beyond that? Art and beauty and culture and food and wine and opinions and politics and religion and all of the things can be viewed through our own authentic filters. In this crazy year, I have seen numerous cases of humans leaning in more authentically to who we are.

So, I really love the Vittoriano. I love that it doesn’t fit in and I love its virile bluntness and its contrast to Rome’s sun-soaked tones and tiny little surprises. I love its boldness in the middle of thousands of years of history. And right this second, on a personal level, I love that it reminds me of who I’ve been and who I’ve grown into after 10+ years of living in this chaotically gorgeous city.

Like I said, authenticity shows up in the sneakiest ways.