Choosing Authenticity Over Shame

I recently saw some headline mentioning Justine Musk, and I was reminded of how strongly I was interested in her words a while back (like maybe 5 or 10 years ago). I never actually lost interest. She simply stopped sharing her story.

Let me remind you of just a little piece of this:

We need to trust the deep yes so we can trust each other

“The art of the deep yes” Justine Musk at TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen @ 15:05

Her stories went far beyond that — I think she’s probably a wild and crazy gal.

I mention this one particular statement because it is really a good example of how indigena is preferable to propaganda.

When we affirm our own beliefs and reject beliefs others seek to impose upon us, then we affirm ourselves. We become true to ourselves. We trust ourselves. We realize that others can behave similarly, and this is a fundamental part of our capacity to believe in others, their stories, etc.

The image of Justine making eye contact with the camera is very telling — insofar as she presents herself as being aware of her audience (see also “One Remarkable Thing About Each & Every Audience is its Consumer Behavior” [ https://socio.business.blog/2022/07/02/one-remarkable-thing-about-each-every-audience-is-its-consumer-behavior ] ). It shows that she feels vulnerable and seeks the audience’s approval. She may be ashamed about something, yet she courageously confronts her own insecurities and courageously speaks her own truth.

And she wants to participate in a community of like-minded people — people who are willing to stand behind their own words. Such authentic devotion to language is thrilling, because it is not simply a matter of self-affirmation, it is also a matter of affirming our community’s language. We are sharing truths via a shared technology, which no single individual can control or manipulate. It is an act of “ubuntu” to participate in such communications.

When someone says “I care about X” and X is a shared concept, this affirms the community which maintains this concept: We share this language.

In contrast, any person or company or trademark which affirms only their own purpose, their own philosophy, their own story, their own language … is only affirming their own way of behaving in a very self-centered manner. There is no engagement with others. Simply take it or leave it.

I will usually leave it.