Some powerful words there @williamwest!

You humans are funny, always trying to manipulate your surroundings and yourselves to suit something you're never quite sure what is but somehow you "know" that your lives will magically become better if you get "there."

The irony, of course, is that there really is no there.

Watch a cat. It is always "itself." Yes, I am sure we can go into a long semantic and philosophical discussion over humans, cats, animals and what "higher consciousness" might be. But the cat metaphor stands. The cat is simply "the cat."

Steemit is a funny place. It speaks of "freedom" and it speaks of "no censorship." That truth exists — on paper. But as you allude to, Humans censor themselves, for any number of self-imposed reasons from "What if people think I'm just a bigoted jackhead?" to "If I'm not nice, my rewards might be lower because people won't like me!"

What is "authenticity" to you, @williamwest?

Most often, a leap of faith is involved. Instead of waffling around and "adjusting the formula," we move into simple BE-ingness. What is the TRUE "leap?" We expose ourselves. That is, the self we show is the self we are.

With that comes a risk: People will see us as we truly are. And when someone rejects that? We experience how it feels to have our essential self rejected. Which can sting. But would you rather be stung for truth than for fakery?

Thank you for creating thoughtful and interesting content on Steemit!

=^..^=