Quotes About Authenticity

Trying to be normal is the greatest abnormality in the world.

For me, far more important than whether teachers have calm voices is how authentic they are—how much of their true selves they allow into their teaching.

Truth is the bread of a noble manhood.

A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it, else the hand would cut itself which sought to drive it home upon another. The worst lies, therefore, are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is true.

A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it. The worst lies are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is true.

Only the insane take themselves quite seriously.

When her mother saw Andrea, she took her hand in hers and sobbed: "We're orphans now!" It struck Andrea as false, somehow—the tear-stained face, the trite words.

That was what marriage was: the ultimate knowledge of each other, with no need to preen or to pretend. Even its irritations came from closeness.

She wore no make-up, and her small, tense face looked chronically embarrassed, as if it got attached by mistake to the wrong person.

Intimacy in all human relationships—especially with God—can occur only as vulnerability and inadequacy are owned.

A saccharine, easy grace is no grace at all.

Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue.

Whenever I heard it, whoever said it to me, it felt the same. Like it didn't really mean anything. Because they weren't saying it about the real me. But what if they were? What if everyone who ever said they loved you meant it? How could they? How could any of them have ever meant it when no one but you has ever really known the real me?

Falling for you was the scariest thing in the entire world, and losing my heart to you was the most terrifying thing I could imagine. Until I finally realized why I was so afraid. I thought I was going to lose myself in you, when the truth is that with you is where I've finally found everything that truly matters.

But the thing is, sometimes my whole tough girl act gets a little old, even for me. Especially when it's what everyone expects from me, all the time.

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks you should be, or what the right path is for you. All that matters is what you think, and what you feel. Because all the answers are right there inside your head, your body, your heart. It's perfectly normal to be led off course and away from the answers that are right for you.

And still, even when he'd told her how he felt about her, and that he wanted their fake relationship to be real, she'd held herself back out of fear that their friends-to-lovers story was too good to be anything but fiction.

And it was why he loved her. One of the reasons, anyway. Because he also loved her bratty comebacks. He loved the way she put her entire self behind whatever she was doing, even if she had no idea what she was doing and was getting it all wrong. He loved the way she danced as if she was connected to the clouds and the sun and the rainbows. And he loved that she'd stormed into his life and turned everything upside down before he ever had a chance to stop her.

Marriage isn't a disease; it isn't catching. You don't have to pass it on to everybody you know. Unlike a woman I once heard admit "I've never been married but I tell people I'm divorced so they are not scared of me

Great leaders, like great actors, must be confident, energetic, empathetic, inspirational, credible, and authentic.

Just as there is nothing between the admirable omelette and the intolerable, so with autobiography.

There are those who believe that clumsiness and truthfulness go together. But cumbersomeness does not necessarily imply a sincere heart.

You can be nobody but yourself. You cannot hide away, nor be lost in any crowd. You carry the glory and the burden of your individuality.

I'm not the type of guy who enjoys one-night stands. It leaves me feeling very empty and cynical. It's not even fun sexually. I need to feel something for the woman and entertain the vain hope that it may lead to a relationship.