I was having a conversation with an old friend about life and where we've come from and where we're both headed, and at some point in the conversation, the term "real" started being thrown around. Now this is something that I am guilty of quite often. You know those people, they are just very real... but in trying to explain this to someone else, I realized that I'm not even so sure of what I'm talking about.
So is being real just always being honest and not being a fake? Or does real have more to do with being in tune with God's rhythm of life, living life how it was meant to be lived? I've been throwing this word in front of all sorts of other things to make it some sort of better. I could probably explain to you what I usually mean when I say real in reference to someone else, but when I kept describing my own life experiences and my efforts of just trying to be real... I fell short.
Help me out here.
9 comments:
Hey,
I have always thought that a person who is "real" is a person who no matter the circumstances or no matter who is around will be the same as they would be if they were the only one in the room. A test i have always thought of for real is how much would you do for a person who could do nothing for you. do you change fundamentally who you are to impress, missrepresent, or taint peopls opinions. For me a real person is someone who is who they are today and tommorow and the next day despite the situation. Hope that helped im writting at 3 a.m. :)
Reid
i like that test.
but sometimes i think it's understandeable to act differently in front of certain people depending on the circumstances...
like, once i was playing guitar in a church for worship, and i was asked to wear a dress shirt and tie and no jeans. at first i thought that was stupid and they were asking me to change just because they thought you had to dress up for church! but the more i prayed about it, i really felt that God was telling me to be considerate of the people i was reaching out to. I dont think i changed who i was at all, because me being a compassionate person is a part of my character. but i might have acted differently, or dressed differently because of that compassion.
so sometimes i don't think it's ok to assume that since someone might act differently in front of different people, that always means they are being any less real. at least i have never thought so... cuz i like to beleive i was just as much the real me when i was wearing that shirt and tie.
well reid i see what your saying but i always have viewed that more so as integrity.
graham are you refering to authenticity?
"does real have more to do with being in tune with God's rythm of life, living life how it was meant to be lived? "
i thought THAT was an amazing line..
makes me feel as if being real.. or one of "those" real people are truely PRESENT in their life...not being present in their future or past.. but living serving hoping LOVING in their now with Jesus as their centre.
hmmm... you have good thoughts that resonate somewhere deep inside a lot of people.
peace.
jeff
I think the term "real" is going to have different meaning to different people. Especially those who are fake and don't even know it! To me it means being honest with yourself (and to others) but more so I believe it to be a concoction of qualities that make you "real". Honesty, conviction, unbias, accountability. These are just a few that I believe make someone "real". It's alot like religion. Everyone has their belief of what God is to them and alot of people hold a great conviction to that belief. I guess to me it is doing what is right for yourself and making the things want out of life possible. But, beware, there are some poeple who misconstrude this. There can be a dark side to this "real" and religion.
If you do what you believe to be write for you (and you are not hurting yourself or anyone else) and stay focused on what you want out of life you can't go wrong! Make "you" happy!
Steven Barley
keep it real graham
Yah man id agree with the shirt and tie i dont think i would call you fake for being respectful.... I guess there are times when small changes to how you would normally act can keep you real and i think most of those have to do with respect or honouring others. i think i guess i was looking at the more negative side when people ditch who they are to impress i think that is one of the more dangerous times when people stop being real is when they change to impress not too love. I guess what im trying to say is changing to show love to others is okay to a certain extent but changing for selfish motivs is not a way of staying real
Good dialogue made me re think this one a little i like that.
Reid
"does real have more to do with being in tune with God's rythm of life, living life how it was meant to be lived? "
Great line man...
I think that what being "real" is, lies in that quote... but first what is God's Rythm of life and how is life meant to be lived? We often think it is only "go and be fishers of men..." which is very true but i think there is a lot more to it.
For me the two characteristics of being real is someones integrity and the amount he/she relies on God. We tend to do things our way, it is the first reaction for most, "what can I do?" or "I can't do that". Living by what we can do by ourselves is living through our flesh which is not who we are and will result in something fake. If we rely on God, we will be living through the image which we have been created. Then, if we live a life through the image we haveb been created, it is there I believe we will find who we really are... and it is there that I believe we will find the way life is meant to be lived.
Now i hope that makes sense because, i typed it once but then i pressed backspace but it took the window back and then the post was gone! so i typed it again but it's never the same the second time haha but ya ummm Praise God
Adison!
I think it would help if you shared what being "real" looks like in someone else. As anonymous#1 said, "the term 'real' is going to have different meaning to different people." It depends on the context the word "real" is being used in. Being a real person and being real can have totally different meanings.
maybe the question was posed as more of a way of deciding what "real" looks like in someone, because have used the word so often without any sort of thought to what it means. and i guess i'm not really sure.
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