A Story About Authenticity

Is It Easy to Honest Today?

Is it easy to be honest, sincere in a world where it feels like everything must be given value and made more beautiful, even when it is not beautiful at all? There is only one answer. Yes. Because honesty is exactly what we all lack in everyday life, everywhere.

Look at yourself. Look in the mirror. Be honest and say how you truly feel, without putting on a mask. We often say, I’m fine, I’m perfect, everything is beautiful, even when it is not true. But if there is a good feeling inside, if the day has started well and there is sense of peace around you, then breathe in that peace and allow yourself to feel exactly as you feel. There is no need to add pressure that you must run faster, do more, and become even more perfect. Things can be as they are.

Noticing the Moment

While driving, I noticed something unusual. The lane I was in was almost empty. Normally the time when people head into the city is more or less the same, but this time the traffic in my direction was free. That is rare, and it made me want to enjoy the moment of an open road.

At the same time, an empty road can also demand more attention. When there are more cars coming from the opposite direction, there is a higher chance someone will overtake and enter the oncoming lane, simply because the road feels open. It can feel good, and yet it brings its own situations, one following another. Still, the main thing was clear. This morning felt different, and I noticed it consciously.

Honesty Starts With Yourself

That is honesty. Noticing yourself. Being aware. Recognizing a situation that you genuinely enjoy, something that makes you feel good and even surprises you a little. That is honesty.

Honesty begins with the self. Only then do we look for how to express it in the world. This does not mean that we must always say everything straight to people’s faces. It means seeing things as they are, and when the moment requires it, speaking honestly about how we see them.

Why Truth Can Feel Unwelcome

Sadly, it often feels as if the world does not want the truth. People are so used that honesty, truth telling being taken advantage of, so used to being misunderstood, that honesty begins to feel unsafe. Some have even created an illusion that openness is something negative. That is a real loss.

There is so much flattery around us, and so many false smiles. Behind them can hide negative thoughts, hidden intentions, hidden plans for gaining more at someone else’s expense. And yet there are also people with good hearts, people whose smile hides nothing at all. It is simply a smile, warm, kind, and sincere.

The Eyes Tell the Story

It helps to look into someone’s eyes when they smile, to see what hides there. Kindness or manipulation. Sincerity or flattery.

Of course, a false smile can be practiced, even with performative squint eyes. But honestly, not everyone is a great actor. And intuition often tells us the truth. It senses what kind of smile it is, what it reveals, what it really means.

We should listen to it, because beneath intuition there is often strong analysis, quietly working in the background.