You're not being authentic, you are just being mean

​Have you noticed how sometimes people say really mean things, then upon seeing the shock you can't quite hide from your face, they say, "I'm just being authentic"?  

That's not authenticity.
 
Just as the look on your face suggests (if you have no poker face whatsoever, like me), it's just mean. 

You are love. You are made of love. Love is what you are at the core of your being. 
So, then, to be authentic is to be love, or at least loving in action (even if you don't feel love-y). 

If you want to be mean, sarcastic, or judgmental, own it. At the very least, this gives the people around you the opportunity to not take you personally, and to have respect for you taking honest responsibility for your choice of behavior.  

I've noticed a trend where people are calling themselves spiritual and authentic, and simply using it as license to be hateful to whatever they personally don't like. 

I may wish everyone agreed with me about equality, healthcare, politics, and education, but it's not "just being authentic" to say those who don't are stupid idiots who don't know anything. To discriminate against and exclude others, to withhold love while thinking I am "right" because I choose love, in itself, is an act of war. 

War is not love.  

LOVE ALL. Be kind to ALL. It's simple!
 
When you choose love, you must remember that others are allowed to choose their own life experience - and that might look radically different from your own, and that's ok. They have the right to live life (and make decisions about their life) from a place of fear. You can still be an example of unconditional love. It's what people in fear need: an example of love. 

People - ALL people -  need love. 
Your love.
They need compassion. 
Your compassion. 
They need the freedom to have any relationship with your God or their God or multiple Gods or no God at all. 

Your job is to be love in action. 

When your judgment of their ideals collides with their judgment of yours, there is war. There is disharmony. There is fear. Love cannot occupy that space and do the healing things love does. 

Authenticity is not a weapon. 
Love is not a weapon. 
Fear is a weapon. 
Hate is a weapon. 
But not love. ​