Anne Ribley: Remarkable Souls

“Have the audacity to be authentic.” This statement feels bold, something brave people say.  Or it’s an option we use when the time is right. It can be a permission pass we give ourselves to show up more fully, but only if conditions are right enough to take action. Make the decision. Speak up. Raise our hands, and say, “Yes, count me in!’ or “No, count me out”.  Being authentic can also sound like a really nice extra-curricular activity we do when the picture-perfect life has arrived. When we have enough time. When we have enough money. When we are pretty enough. Thin enough. Smart enough. Educated enough. Or when the conditions are right enough. The right words. The right people. Right mood. Dressed in the right outfit. In the right opportunity. When everything is just right, all the stars have aligned.  Only then do give ourselves permission to awaken our most treasured self, filled with the audacity to be authentic.  Women are designed to conform. Physiologically, our bodies are made to shape-shift and co