Genuine Growth

Being genuine is a tender and vulnerable state. So, we build prison walls for ourselves to feel safe. This is how we build our ego, an identity and start strengthening it by clinging to beliefs, views and opinions. We wear layers of masks to protect and maintain our treasured image. It's a privilege to be who we are, yet we try hard to be somebody else.

Further we lose our authentic being by various pressures. We face tremendous social pressure and also from those who are close to us. It's a tragic comedy to see how husband and wife try to change each other. We learn to wear many superficial masks to accommodate all these pressures. Though we hate the external pressure, we do the same to others.

It takes a lot of guts to be true to ourselves, and it takes deep clarity to see through all our self-deception. Sometimes people say, "This is who I am", "I just want to be myself", etc. to justify their insensitive and harmful behavior. Everyone wants to change the whole world except themselves. Being genuine and authentic is not against change. Change is a necessary part of growth. Genuine growth can be a painful process as it destroys our ego. The seed needs to break its shell to grow into a tree.