Authentic Living Quotes

If you are feeling constrained by a group that you belong to, ask yourself,
"How can I participate in this community and still be who I am? ~ Gina Greenlee

I need to be startlingly clear. This thing of finding your authentic voice, expressing your blessed weirdness and revealing your soul isn't an elegant process. You don't do it to be cool. You don't do it to get laid or get rich. It's only real when it is ruthless, relentless and inevitable. But it is also a matter of personal and collective survival. Yes, it's that important. You are that critical. ~ Jacob Nordby

What if we choose not to do the things we are supposed to do? The principal gain is a sense of an authentic act – and an authentic life. It may be a short one, but it is an authentic one, and that's a lot better than those short lives full of boredom. The principal loss is security. Another is respect from the community. But you gain the respect of another community, the one that is worth having the respect of. ~ Stanley Keleman

Authenticity is the sine qua non of everything that matters. When you encounter someone unguarded, without artifice or pretense--Mon Dieu!--you know it. I compare it to being at the top of the mountain: the air is clearer, there's nothing to muddy the senses. It's bracingly refreshing. ~ Ellen Lubin-Sherman

Surrendering to who you really are and why you are here may very well change the world. ~ Maria Flynn

Practicing As a man in his last breath drops all he is carrying each breath is a little death that can set us free. Breathing is the fundamental unit of risk, the atom of inner courage that leads us into authentic living. With each breath, we practice opening, taking in, and releasing. Literally, the teacher is under our nose. When anxious, we simply have to remember to breathe. So often we make a commitment to change our ways, but stall in the face of ~ Mark Nepo

When you haven't figured out who you are and what you offer the world, it's awfully easy to get hoodwinked into thinking you're not as good as everyone else. It's even easier to start taking on the arts and pretensions of someone you're not. Don't bother. There's nothing fabulous about a generic. We always pay more for the original. ~ Ellen Lubin-Sherman

False humility is a form of psychosis which was imprinted on most of us since birth. It is a mental illness because it locks us in a victim state of keeping our light turned down, denying who we really are and silently begging for permission to simply show up as ourselves in the world. But there is good news. This is a jail whose lock is broken. We can walk free whenever we know the truth, and by so doing we show others an example of an end to madness. An example of freedom. ~ Jacob Nordby

An authentic life facing reality without mental equivocation is the simplest type of life. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

Few experiences are more satisfying than becoming someone we always imagined we could be. ~ Gina Greenlee

Authenticity soothes the soul. ~ Arthur P. Ciaramicoli

Women (...) have been encouraged since they were children to be dependent to an unhealthy degree. Any woman who looks within knows that she was never trained to be comfortable with the idea of taking care of herself, standing up for herself, asserting herself. At best she may have played the game of independence, inwardly envying the boys (and later the men) because they seemed so naturally self-sufficient.

It is not nature that bestows this self-sufficiency on men; it's training. Males are educated for independence from the day they are born. Just as systematically, women are taught that they have an out - that someday, in some way, they are going to be saved. That is the fairy tale, the life-message (...) We may venture out on our own for a while. We may go away to school, work, travel; we may even make good money, but underneath it all there is a finite quality to our feelings about independence. Only hang on long enough, the childhood story goes, and someday someone will come along to rescue you from the anxiety of authentic living. (The only savior the boy learns about is himself.) ~ Colette Dowling

10 Reasons Why Authentic People Are Successful:

1. They live fearlessly on the road less traveled.
2. They communicate from a place of love.
3. They use their intuition.
4. They quickly create boundaries.
5. They love alone time.
6. They trust the process of life.
7. They see through the eyes of love.
8. They bring out the best in others.
9. They love deep conversations.
10. They're confident ~ Maria Flynn

Living a spiritual life may not be easy. It demands total authenticity. It brings you to dance to a unique song that only you can hear fully, and sometimes you dance alone because no others can hear the music. ~ Debra Moffitt

When it comes to loving people, let's not allow it to be something we do on the side. Let's make it a lifestyle. Whether we are at the gas station, picking up groceries, even waiting to get our car repaired, there is always an open opportunity to love someone in need. ~ Jarrid Wilson

I used to think that life was only about progress, getting to a destination, the final outcome. But this isn't quite right. Life is more of a process, and as much as goals are important, the in-the-moment experiences along the way are really where authentic living takes place. Running has taught me this. In fact, running has been my greatest teacher of life. ~ Jacqueline Simon Gunn

We need to insist on making culture out of our desire: making paintings, novels, plays and films potent and seductive and authentic enough to undermine and overwhelm the Iron Maiden. ~ Naomi Wolf

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude. It can also be a time when feeling grateful can be an acrobatic feat that you're just not up for. There's no rules that need to be followed here. Authentic living is your only option, so it's ok to turn off the tv when another ad screams for you to be a certain way just because the calendar says so. Power of suggestion can be great medicine - but don't judge yourself or a loved one who is having trouble learning the words to this song. It's a tough season from some people. Huddle and cuddle with those you trust and love. That's real medicine and it's a good place to be during the holidays. xoxo ~ Deborah Pardes

Often, our relationships become an unrealized quest for what is perfect, unfettered, and free of flaws. We expect our partners, spouses, and our friends to avoid missteps and to be magical mind readers. These secret expectations play a sinister part in many of the great tragedies of our lives: failed marriages, dissipated dreams, abandoned careers, outcast family, deserted children, and discarded friendships.

We readily forget what we once knew as children: our flaws are not only natural but integral to our beings. They are interwoven into our soul's DNA and yet we continually reject the crooked, wrinkled, mushy parts of our life rather than embrace them as the very essence of our beings.

I once believed that aiming for perfection would land me in the realm of excellence. This, however, may not be the trajectory of how things happen. In fact, the pursuit of perfection may be the biggest obstacle to becoming whole.

It seems essential to value hard work and determination and yet recognize that the road to excellence is littered with mistakes and subsequent lessons. Imperfection and excellence are intertwined. There is joy in our pain, strength in weakness, courage in compassion, and power in forgiveness. ~ Ann Brasco

If we are unfaithful to true self, we will extract a price from others. We will make promises we cannot keep, build houses from flimsy stuff, conjure dreams that devolve into nightmares, and other people will suffer - if we are unfaithful to true self. ~ Parker J. Palmer

When you honor your most authentic self- - your Spirit - you are allowing your Light to shine and touch the world. Living authentically, in its simplest terms, is living your Truth, the truth in your heart and soul. It's allowing yourself to be guided by Divine Truth and Wisdom, each and every day, and doing your Highest, most authentic work in the world. It's joyfully creating and living your Highest purpose! ~ Valerie Rickel

A person employs human reason and intellect to guide our earthly expedition. We can stumble through life satisfying the unconscious dictates of the mind or take control of our life by increasing our level of conscious awareness. Philosophy always commences with an act of consciousness. We must follow our moral passions. We create our reality by what we perceive as truth. We imagine a life that we wish to experience. Live the life that you envision. Do not allow other people or external determinates to control your conception of the self, because otherwise you are living someone else's life. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

If you have a strong purpose in life, you don't have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there. ~ Roy Bennett

Consult as you may your masters; their musings. But look within when it's time for the choosing. ~ Garry Fitchett

A person desires to lead a self-constructed life rather than live a life duplicating other people's footsteps. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

There was no better way to live, or worse. It was all terrible, and you had to do it constantly, ~ Alexandra Kleeman

~Here's to kick-offs, goals, assists, shootouts, livin' on the road, the smell of wet grass, early mornings, breakaways, crossbar shots, countless hours of practice, Nike cleats, , shin pads, big passes, loud chanting, new equipment, sniping shots, corner kicks, coaches, passion in our numbers, living with your team mates, the girls you trust become your second family, pick up, fights, let downs, miracles. Some people say soccer's a matter of life or death, but it isn't, it's much more then that, and most of all – the best game in the world, our passion, our life, our future, our love, our game .. SOCCER.~ ~ Anonymise

I wasn't living. I was just existing. ~ Laurann Dohner

There was a soldier in the next room living with his wife and he would soon be going over there to protect me from Hitler so I snapped the radio off and then heard his wife say, "you shouldn't have done that." and the soldier said, "FUCK THAT GUY!" which I thought was a very nice thing for him to tell his wife to do. of course, she never did. ~ Charles Bukowski

I really like to live my life in a low-key fashion. ~ Alicia Keys

Often sweeps Death. The houses of living, A menial task, That brings into her fair, dark eyes. A sparkle of joy. At the little things she finds there. ~ Greg Keyes

I told you before, Jem, that you would not leave me," Will said, his bloody hand on the hilt of the dagger. " And you are still with me. When I breath, I will think of you, for without you I would have been dead years ago. When I wake up and when I sleep, when I lift up my hands to defend myself or when I lie down to die, you will be with me. You say we are born again. I say there is a river that divides the dead and the living. What I do know is that if we are born again, I will meet you in another life, if there is a river, you will wait on the shores for me to come to you, so we can cross together." Will took a deep breath and let go of the knife. He drew his hand back. The cut on his palm was already healing- the result of the half dozen iratzes on his skin. " You hear that, James Carstairs? We are bound, you and I, over the divide of death, down through whatever generations may come. Forever."
He rose to his feet and looked down at the knife. The knife was Jem's, the blood was his. This spot of ground, whether he could ever find it again, whether he lived to try, would be theirs.
He turned around to walk to Balios, towards Wales and Tessa. He did not look back. ~ Cassandra Clare

We live in a post-authentic world, and today authenticity is a house of mirrors. It's all just what you're bringing when the lights go down. It's your teachers, your influences, and your personal history. At the end of the day, it's the power and purpose of your music that still matters. ~ Bruce Springsteen

In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen. ~ Kohta Hirano

Through all of this lovely interviewing, and nice things people say, and the rest of it, I have learned that I am an actor. That is my profession. That is my job. That is how I make a living. So I am just out there making a living. ~ Melissa Leo

I'm still willing to continue living with the burden of this memory. Even though this is a painful memory, even though this memory makes my heart ache. Sometimes I almost want to ask God to let me forget this memory. But as long as I try to be strong and not run away, doing my best, there will finally be someday ... there will be finally be someday I can overcome this painful memory. I believe I can. I believe I can do it. There is no memory that can be forgotten, there is not that kind of memory. Always in my heart. ~ Natsuki Takaya

The future economic success of Silicon Valley will be contingent on whether we have a good quality of life. World-class workers will only want to come to a world-class living environment. ~ Carl Guardino

If there is something I have not yet written and I must declare about her, is that without her (Laura) will nad her values, today Rebecca and Yong would not be in the individuals I know. Two other different people would now be living somewhere in the world. Not Rebecca and Yong, but someone else. Similarly, without Rebecca and Yong, neither Laura nor myself would be the same. Another two people would be living in Milan, in our apartment. ~ Roberto G. Ferrari

Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one ~ A.W. Tozer

Maybe your resistance is to live. Live big and loud and joyously and fiercely. Live authentic to who you are. Refuse to be silent. Refuse to go away. Refuse stereotypes and limits.
Because you being you is the most powerful kind of resistance of all. (Rebecca Roanhorse) ~ Maureen Johnson

We must embrace the fact that if we don't commit to thinking and living differently than most people now, we are setting ourselves up to endure a life of mediocrity, struggle, failure and regret-just like most people. ~ Hal Elrod

The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. ~ Karl Marx

We are slaves to the cost of living. ~ Carolina Maria De Jesus

Living in a small town you couldn't go anywhere on a Saturday where a store had the game on. If you were downtown you heard the game. If you were at the gas station you heard the game. I remember I would be mowing the lawn and I would stop for the Nebraska game. I would have it cranking outside. ~ Larry The Cable Guy

We may regard certain days as free days. Free days are however fee days. We will pay later ~ Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

Art too is just a way of living, and however one lives, one can, without knowing, prepare for it; in everything real one is closer to it, more its neighbor, than in the unreal half-artistic professions, which, while they pretend to be close to art, in practice deny and attack the existence of all art - as, for example, all of journalism does and almost all criticism and three quarters of what is called (and wants to be called) literature. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

When I feel threatened, vulnerable, or insecure, whether it from simply walking into a room of unknown people, meeting someone for the first time, an unexpected or expected confrontation, or doing something new, I affirm in my mind (over and over): There is no danger, there is no threat. From there, the discomfort lessens and I become open for discovery and adventure. ~ Charles F. Glassman

We "talk" relationship but we "live" religion, with unsatisfying results. Christianity defines itself, first and foremost, as a relationship with God. Even though this is true, our human nature tends toward living a relationship with God as if it were a religion ~ Mark Cowper-Smith

Brother, when you've been here as long as I have, you'll come to discover there are only one or two essential things worth living for. Unique to you and you alone. My honor is one of them for me. I keep my honor by keeping the relic out of their hands. ~ Brodi Ashton

There's only one thing I know what to do, so I'm pretty much otherwise unemployable. The idea that you can make a living from exercising your only skill is wonderful. And it's wonderful to be read. It's a really exciting and happy thing to be read. ~ Helen Garner

Behind every smile there is a cunning face ~ R.Gayan Priyankara

I would say that I'm happy getting to make a living playing music and seeing people enjoy music that I make. So far, things have grown consistently and quicker than I thought they would, so that could possibly continue. Even if it ended tomorrow, I'd be really grateful that I got to do it. ~ Ben Rector

The love for nature is the well-spring of life. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

Why shouldn't you think it's crazy to believe in a green deer? All your life you have been taught to believe in only what you can use-to set on the table, to put in the bank, to build a house with. What possible use would a green deer be to anyone? Who would believe in a man with a blazing bush in his cart? Then let me tell you that it is beliefs just such as these that are the only hope of the world. Let me tell you that until men are ready to believe in the green deer and the strange carter, we shall not lift our noses above the bloody mess we have made of our living ~ Kenneth Patchen

All scientific and philosophical ideas about the nature of our existence claim that our experience of life is different to the underlying reality. We are all living in an illusion to some degree. The choice for you is to determine how deep the illusion might go. ~ Christophe Finipolscie

When I was living in China, I learned to make things hyper-explicit because often they were being read by people whose command of English kept them from picking up what I thought were obvious signals. ~ James Fallows