What’s your special gift?

A reader contacted me and asked me to write more about my experience of living an “authentic life”. They went on to explain that many aspire to live with authenticity but have no idea how to even start.

What exactly is an authentic life? Well, I believe, as many ancient people did, that each person is born into this world with a kind of genius in them. We arrive bearing a special gift, or with a task, mission or purpose that no one but ourselves can carry out. The catch is that most of us don’t know what our genius or gift is. To find out, we have to go on a long, arduous journey to search for it. Although it’s our gift and our genius, we often need someone else to show it to us and train us in its use.

To me, and I can only answer from my own experience, living authentically means being radical. I use the word here in the sense of the original Latin, which is “root”. You need to travel deep into the darkness of the earth of your life and feel your way around for sustenance. The deeper your roots are the higher your branches will be.

The issue many people face is that they are only focused on the surface of their life and not on the foundations of it. If you are fully engaged in the process of finding your unique gift, being trained to use it, or you are already actively sharing and distributing its blessings, congratulations. I salute you.

I worked in the financial world for many years. During that time, I was focused on reaching upper management and although I was well on my way, I never felt settled in myself. I didn’t feel that my life was being enriched. In fact, the higher I climbed the more unsettled, anxious and empty I felt. It was not until I rooted myself in what I really love that I began my journey towards authenticity.

Once you are rooted into the earth of your life’s purpose you become fully self-accountable. Then, there are no excuses for any shortcomings. The economy, race, religion, my economic background – all become irrelevant. I once blamed my tribal background and middle class upbringing for my limitations. This excuse was like a sickness, and once I became self-accountable it lost its power over me. In fact, all my excuses lost their power when I held them up to the light of my authenticity. Another shadow that prevented me from my living my core self was my addiction. Addictions are a subject in themselves, but once I took responsibility for my life I was forced to rehabilitate myself.

Being authentic to me also means being vulnerable. This is the start of the process of becoming an individual with a unique voice and a unique opinion of the world that is not connected to the mass culture around you. I come from a conservative family who normally only marry from within their own tribe. We have a history of being successful academics, doctors, lawyers and engineers. For me to leave that legacy behind and marry from outside my region and pursue my passion for physical culture and literature as a full-time career made me very vulnerable and easy to attack. I would be lying if I told you I was never wounded or scared.

Many mystics from around the world say that the wounds and scares we pick up on the path of life are the magical gateways that lead us to finding the inherited unique gift and genius we are born with. I have found this to be one hundred per cent true.

As a parent, living my authentic life allows me to see the authenticity in my own children. My son Salem is very analytical in how he sees the world. My daughters are twins but are very different to each other. Yumna has a lot of natural physical intelligence whilst Nasra is musically inclined.

It’s worth mentioning here that living your authentic life will not suddenly end all the troubles life might bring you. It will, however show you a star towards which to navigate your life. If you have direction you can navigate through any storm with the power of your will. If you have no direction, all the will in the world will do you no good.

Whatever your genius or gift may be, keep on the path and follow its thread. If my own experience is anything to go by, it will lead you to living a purposeful life that benefits not only yourself but others around you and beyond.

Wishing all of you an authentic Friday.