“Your authentic self is who you truly are as a person, regardless of your occupation, regardless of the influence of others, it is an honest representation of you. To be authentic means not caring what others think about you. … To be authentic is to be true to yourself through your thoughts, words and actions.”
I was having a conversation the other day with a close friend and colleague. She’s someone I really respect, and she’s a great mentor too.
We were reflecting on making change. Most of us in this business are ‘change agents’ on the ground. I’ve always believed it takes boots on the ground to make change, especially significantly impactful community change.
Change is hard, very hard. I call it “Fox Hole” duty. Others might call it a “Rabbit Hole” journey. Whatever it is, it is tough duty on the ground.
Sometimes change does feel like a rabbit hole journey to nowhere. It’s easy to give up on a dream when the light at the end of the tunnel seems to never speak to us.
My old pal, Byron Lewis, who left us too early in 2017, always reminded me, “dream big, Steve, dream big!”
For, It’s your dreams that represent the light at the end of the tunnel, I know now. When you can’t see the light, and it seems like the proverbial ‘rabbit hole,’ imagine and dream again. You will see the light and keep going
It is you. It is all of us together who make dreams come true. It is all of us, not just some of us, who live our authentic selves, who make dreams happen.
Children and Families in Life After Trauma
