Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Zealous

I grew up in church and this word always seemed to be used. You know "be zealous for the Lord."  Blah Blah!  Not that I am mocking the church, because I am not.  I am mocking using it around kids, because I honestly had NO idea what it meant! 

When I think about this word and being authentically zealous, I feel that it is the perfect word to wrap up my A to Z blogging. 

The whole purpose of the last 26 days of writing for me was to be real, to be authentic.  I want my life to be about who I am.  I want it to be about my journey.  As I think about that and ponder over how I can live authentically zealous...it just blows my mind because there are so many ways.  One definition I looked up said "ardently devoted to a purpose." 

So being authentically zealous for a real life.  Being authentically zealous for journeying through this life with courage, adventure, honesty, and understanding.  There are going to be great days, and there are going to be tough days, but the reality is that as long as I am being authentically zealous for the journey.....well then there is nothing else to do but live, and love, and laugh along the way. 

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Young

Being young...we all want to stay young forever.  I want to stay in my 30's forever.  My 20's were great, but there were so many growing pains.  I don't want to be young like that again.  I would not go back to my teens either.   A time in my life when I thought that I knew everything, when in fact I knew pretty much nothing. 

I feel like being in your 30's you are still young enough to have fun, but not so young that you make the same dumb mistakes over and over.  Oh sure there will always be mistakes, we are human after all.  But I want to be authentically young.  I don't ever want to get too old to laugh, have fun, enjoy some good music, or a good beer.  I don't ever want to get too old to laugh at my mistakes, to ride a roller coaster, to travel the world.  I don't ever want to be too old to take advice, embrace change or dance. 

I want to always and forever be authentically young.  To live life with a young mind, heart, and spirit.  That will be a life well lived. 

What about you? Do you want to be authentically young?

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! X-rayed

I had to stretch to think about this X word!  Then I finally settled on something.  Thinking about life and being authentic I thought....why not live authentically x-rayed!  I may have just made up a word here, but I am okay with that. 

What do I mean by living authentically x-rayed?  I mean being completely open, honest, and vulnerable.  I mean opening up your heart and life to people to see who you really are.  In an x-ray you are able to see inside of someone.  You are able to see the hidden things that are causing the problems.  The things that are stopping the person from functioning normally. 

Don't we sometimes just hide behind our smiles.  Don't we sometimes keep quiet when we really want to scream out to the world just how horrible we think our circumstances are at the current moment? 

Being authentically x-rayed means showing all of that underneath "stuff."  Not letting people or circumstances continue to hold you down.  Letting go of the things that you just don't want to be a part of and the people that continue to be toxic in your life.  Being authentically x-rayed means showing who you really are.  Being open to change and being able to be real. 

If someone were able to look inside and x-ray your heart, your thoughts, your everyday experiences...what would they find? 

Would you like to be authentically x-rayed? 

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Wanderer

I don't ever want to lose my sense of wander!  :)  Wandering over this amazing earth is one of the greatest gifts I have been given.  I have loved the places that I have been able to go, and the people I have met along the way. 

Wandering takes courage, bravery, adventure, and a sense of openness to new things.  Wandering is something that not everyone gets to experience.  Some people know exactly where they are supposed to be and they never wander around searching for that place to call home. 

When I was 23 and first setting out on my grand adventure I thought that I would wander for a few years and then I would just know.  I thought that everyone just has this moment of knowing exactly where they are supposed to be.  I thought that once I wandered far enough, high enough, wide enough I would snap my fingers and belong somewhere. 

I was wrong.  There has not been any great moment in my life when I have just known that I belonged.  In some ways I feel like my life has been pretty lonely.  It is not a sad kind of lonely, it is just a lone journey.  I don't think I have yet to find the place where I can settle down and be myself.  I am not sure that I will ever truly be able to stop wandering.  It is not that I have regrets, because I don't.  It is not that I think I am not where I am supposed to be, because I am sure of my decision.  It is just that I don't feel settled.  I still feel like I could keep going, keep moving. 

I have to wonder if everyone feels this way.  Do we all just put on a smile and pretend like we know what we are doing, that we are sure in our choices?  Or are some of us just more inclined to wander then others? 

Perhaps you have a sense of wander?  Perhaps you don't. 

Are you an authentic wanderer?  Do you wish you were? 

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Vivacious

I love this word!  I love thinking about being Authentically Vivacious!  That my whole being is lively, spirited, and bubbly!  I often don't think I come across that way, I am just not sure that I am wired that way.  Maybe I can be though!  I want to try and live authentically vivacious!  To live life with spirit.  To keep working towards the goals I have set for myself and not let anyone come in between what I want to accomplish and know that I should accomplish! 

How do you live authentically vivacious?  What does it look like to you? 

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Understanding

There comes a time in your life when you have to be understanding.  Understanding of other people's beliefs, thoughts, dreams, and faults.  I find that the older I get the more understanding I am in the small things, and the less understanding I am in the big things.  Why is that?  Or maybe perhaps what I used to think of as a big thing was really a small thing, and what I think of now as a small thing is really a big thing?  Hmmm....

For instance I really can't stand when people invade other's personal space.  It really, really bothers me.  I find myself not being very understanding.  However someone can have a car accident that was clearly their fault, but I just find myself being so understanding for that person.  I am just like..."oh they must have had a lot going on."  What is the difference in those situations?  Why can I be so understanding at one thing, but not the other. 

Another example is gossip.  I have a REALLY hard time being understanding when it comes to people gossiping about those that are close to me, but then I am perfectly fine about people gossiping about movie stars, or those that I don't know.  Why?  They are still people....why can I understand when they do it against strangers, but not those that I know? 

Being understanding takes a lot of patience, and compassion.  It takes looking at the other person and seeing their perspective.  I don't do the best at that. 

I am working on being a more understanding person, but it is a journey that is for sure.



What about you?  Are you authentically understanding? 

Absolutely Authentic from A to Z! Tired

I am authentically TIRED!  It is the end of the school year, I am getting ready for my summer camp job that is probably going to end up bringing a little more stress to my life although it will be good stress.  I am so excited for camp.  In fact I get to go to Spring Camp this weekend.  It is going to be relaxed and fun, but I am also very TIRED! 

The end of the school year is bringing so many things....

*kids that are ready for summer
*about 10 million things to get done before May 22nd
*Grandparent's Day
*Spring Camp
*Working out every morning and evening
*sorting through things in order to get ready for next school year


These are just a few of the things I can think of right now.  I am not complaining...I just know that there are seasons in our lives.  This season is a tired one...at least for today!  Tomorrow I might feel different!