Positive Authenticity

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance my deride it, but in the end, there it is.” Winston Churchill

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” John F. Kennedy

I started writing this after reading several posts and related comments from Sara Jacobovici, Kevin Pashuk, Deb Helfrich, Gert Scholtz, Mamen Delgado, Milos Djukic, Irene Hackett, Gary Sharpe, Don Kerr, Jim Murray, Dr Allen Brown, Harvey Lloyd, Graham Edwards, Pamela Williams, Mohammed A. Jawad, Phil Friedman, Max Carter, Chas Wyatt, Lisa Gallagher…OK, so I think you get the point. For those whose names I left off the list, it is not an intentional oversight, just a matter of the sheer volume of positive and beneficial contributors on this site.

I think one of the things that I find refreshing is the fact that there are so many productive contributors who provide insight, perspective, wisdom and beneficial conversation that make it nigh impossible to call each of you out in a short article.

As I have contemplated many of the posts and ensuing discussions, I had intended to begin this with a thought on the essence of how easy it is to get caught up in the superficiality of it all. A superficiality that in some respects is driven by the very nature of social media and carrying on conversations behind the cloak of digital and virtual anonymity. A fact that far too often, based on schedules and distractions I find myself missing so much, and often times posting superficial responses because of time constraints or as a result of reading and responding to posts on my smart phone and without my glasses on. For those who have experienced my thumb typing skills without my glasses on, there is generally a reason behind my brevity unless I find something compelling.

Despite those shortcomings, I thought about the discussions that many of these posts generate, they have reminded me of a quote from Walter Cronkite where he simply said “In seeking the truth you have to get both sides of a story.” As I contemplated that statement, I mean really contemplated it, I chose to go down a different path.

Maybe it is just me, but there is something truly unique about the majority of things I have read since joining this affinity based network. The vast majority of posts and discussions that begin on this site and then find themselves shared across multiple other social media venue are filled with an abundance of positive and genuine authenticity from some really passionate, brilliant and caring minds.

Recently, there have been several post talking about being human, our emotions and the essence of what makes up our thought process in interacting, collaborating, engaging and exchanging ideas.

One in particular led me to post a response where I used the following three words as part of the dialogue: Intolerance—Tolerance—Acceptance.

As the discussion continued, a comment was made about the superficial nature of these three words. Whether they are or are not superficial, my intent in choosing these words, was actually to get to the essence of being human and the journey of human behavior behind them. I am less concerned with whether these are truly superficial words that have been inculcated in our psyche, and am more interested in the actual essence of how we arrive at or navigate our journeys and communicate to and through one or the other. These three words made me think about how we are brought in to this world; the inputs, influences and outputs through experience and education that lead us to harboring one or all of these in our approaches to each other and our lives in general.

There are far too many of you who are intellectually light years ahead of me in the thinking domain but I am truly interested in the pathways that lead us to using words like these that ultimately reflect our actions and the essence of our being human.

When I posted my response, I chose these words with the specific intent of using precise words precisely. I used these words with a specific thought about how we come in to this world and then how we are influenced along our journeys to get to a point where we sometimes find ourselves intolerant of things or how we navigate through life’s engagements, relationships, interactions and affinities to actually get to a point of either tolerance or eventual acceptance despite our differences.

As I was able to read, watch and follow the comments and conversations which ensued, I found it interesting that on the superficial surface it appeared that some comments were just being that; Superficial. But as I watched this and then other posts from some of these same folks I started seeing a broader dialogue unfold. Folks read articles that piqued their interest and caused them to write something because of a passion for a subject. Others saw comments--pointed, supportive, contrarian, or apparently superficial but they sparked a desire to write something else based on the content of a particular idea or statement. Others decided to take it to a different level altogether and engaged personally with others, initially via personal message and then on occasion I started to see folks actually writing about calling each other so that they could better understand the person on the other end and then posting things based on that interaction.

I am not a totally deep and philosophical or scientific kind of person but maybe there is something to it all through our ability to use the powers of our affinities and the ensuing use of conversation through the processes associated with Absorption-Diffusion-Desorption.

So as I continue to watch this site grow and use words that mean something, I will be focused on the beneficial affinities of those who espouse the very nature of Truly and Genuine Positive Authenticity, rather than perpetuating Spurious Authenticity with a sprinkling of Tergiversation & Circumlocution.

And on the tails of those superficial words and not to equivocate, as elusive as their substance at times may be and in the context of how they are used, I will continue to try and use words as precisely, effectively and with as much positive intent as I can muster.

Thank you to all as you continue on your journey to use words effectively and in doing so, continue with a pension to use the art of communication as an interactive means to making the world a better place. Through the power of words, positive conversation and authenticity we can make a difference.

For other works by Joel Anderson: https://www.bebee.com/@joel-anderson

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author