«You look amazing.» Do I ? Authenticity is worth paying for.
When the shop assistant says this to me, I take it with a pinch of salt. I decline the next time she asks if I need any help. When a shop assistant frowns a bit and says «I think I have another dress that might suit you better», well then I am sold.
Which one do you believe ? Do you find yourself asking yourself that question these days more often than before ? I do. Do they mean what they say ? Did they write that ? Do they actually mean what they write? Is that person even real?
I notice my tolerance for inauthenticity is shrinking by the day. And my quest for authenticity is growing by the minute. Together with my appreciation for that which is real.
Real being a true story being told about the banal, beautiful and difficult part of our lives. Real being sitting across from a person whose heart is beating. Real meaning hearing the breath of someone in front of me. Real being witness to tears pouring down someone´s face in front of me. Real hearing the sound of welcome laughter. Real listening to the tone of someone’s voice change. As their emotions rise inside. Real when we dare to reveal the worst of us, and not just the best.
I love that lady in the shop. Yes quite often a lady where I go, above 50 and just amazing at her job. She dares to speak the truth. She dares to not feed my ego. She genuinely wants me to look good in a dress. And so she tells me what I don’t look good in too.
As AI is on the rise, so is our quest for authenticity. That´s what I think anyway. We are going to hunt it down. Embrace it. And we are going to pay a premium for it in the future.
Because as long as we are walking around with our hearts beating, we will always long for connections with other beating hearts. Imperfect ones. Honest ones. Utterly human ones.
That is what gets me up in the morning. What about you ?
