I’m not fool enough to think that my ideas are really MY ideas.  Insofar as I’ve been influenced by all the thinkers that I’ve read over the years, especially those with whom I resonate, can I really be said to think my own thoughts?  Can I lay claim to originality, authenticity?

Perhaps being authentic is less about being ‘original’ than it is about allowing ourselves to gravitate to those thoughts, beliefs, hobbies and ideas that truly resonate with us and not those that we are pressured by friends, family or other forces to accept in the face of fear.  In other words, maybe being myself is about being free to be who I want to be.