The Essence of Authenticity

Authenticity - what does that mean to you?
For me it is a something I strive to be in all areas of my life. I realise with the wonderful vision of age, experience and hindsight that I have not always presented my authentic self to the world, but also that the times that I have not been authentic it was more about me than others. There was a time, in fact many times, on this little journey called life that I have been unsure of who I am and afraid of stepping up and saying "hey world, this is me!" But step by step, lesson by lesson, I have become more comfortable with the 'real me' and more ok about letting her shine through regardless of what others may think. I recognise and respect authenticity in those around me, I understand and love that we are all different, we each have our own challenges, our own 'right' ways of doing things and interacting with other. What I don't understand though is when people are so far from their authentic selves that they are deceitful not only to those around them but also to themselves.
But I guess as with all things in life, its not always easy to be at ease with yourself - especially around others! There are so many circumstances in our day to day lives that we are required to wear different hats, or perhaps different masks just to get through our day but I think that all of those parts are parts of us and that if our intention is pure then we are doing our best to be our authentic selves. I'm not sure if this is a simple truth that it has just taken me years to realise or if it is something deep and profound that more of us need to realise and accept that we are never just one person, just one 'us', that we are always evolving, that sometimes we need to be chameleons and adapt to the circumstances or people that are around us, but that even within all of the chaos and carnage that is our interactions with so many others in a day, that there is always room to be you....