#OpenConversations #MakingLivedExperiencesMatter Authenticity and Attachment often wrestle in the smallest of moments. Like wanting to show off a new earring. A simple, human wish for someone to say, “Hey, that looks nice.” But then the attachment voices start crowding in. Attachment to expectations. To how one is "supposed" to look, sound, behave. To the unspoken rules of platforms, Instagram is fine for selfies, but on LinkedIn? Too vain, too casual, too... un-Ph.D.-like. So the mind bargains. Maybe if someone else is in the picture,say, a husband, it won’t look self-indulgent. The presence of a 'man' magically neutralises judgment, no? And yet another layer of attachment rises: the pressure to sound intelligent, relevant, respectable. As if intellect and joy, analysis and earrings, can’t coexist. Authenticity whispers, “Just be.” Attachment replies, “But what will people think?” And as the A & A play tug of war within me, the photo of my lovely earring waits patiently to be posted. Perhaps that’s what living authentically really means: acknowledging the attachment voices, noticing it, smiling at its panic, AND posting the picture anyway.
