Observation, Authenticity and Decision Making

If you look straight ahead the illusion is gone.
The periphery contains the contrast of what
we chose to be. 



Authenticity often seems out of reach.  I was raised in Connecticut and all the thrift store shopping and indie music listening won't take that out of me.  There is an opening, though.  Now, tomorrow and for the next few years  the layers of societal morés are being stripped away.  Today is a fine example of what this will feel like more often down the road. 

I'm preparing notes to teach a new class on expression and was brainstorming in my head on what focus to take.  The word decision came to mind immediately.  Of the countless decisions we make daily how many are made based on personal preference?  When we are at work we use company guidelines; at the clothing store we chose the appropriate choice to fit a dresscode, conform to age appropriateness, conceal body-image issues, etc.  We eat what we think we should for health reasons, because a commercial tells us to, because there's a drive-through and we only have thirty minutes for lunch, because our kids will only eat certain foods...  It's no wonder that people have no clue what they want, they never even get a chance to practice on small things. 

Artistic activities can be a place to make decisions based on personal preference as long as one is not caught up in the audience or using standard materials.  There is nothing wrong with painting on canvas but we should not overlook the other materials just because we are trained to.  Do you think about the preferences of the reader when writing or do you simply let your own expressions out? 

We can start from scratch with this to develop a sense of communion with our spirit by making small decisions like what to eat for lunch or which socks to wear with a particular outfit based on what lights your soul instead of our default mental programming.  In doing so we'll begin to feel a connection to life again.  Passion and enthusiasm come from identifying and expressing true desires and authenticity emerges out of these occurences.