How We Lose Our Authentic Self and Find It Again
Update: This comic has transformed into my new book “Finding Your Authentic Self: An Illustrated Journey to Well-being” - now available! Click here for more info and a preview!
It fills me with joy and relief to finally release this into the world. These thoughts have been stewing in my mind for quite a long time - a result of personal experiences, stories from friends, conversations, things I’ve read. It began to crystallize as a journal entry after watching the musical Dear Evan Hansen. I challenged myself to turn it into something more comprehensible - for my sake and others. Visuals to the rescue! Thank you to all the friends who helped me refine this.
I hope this is as helpful for my friends and other readers, as it has been for me to create. I would love to hear about your own experiences with losing and finding your authentic self. Please share in the comments!
If you’re curious about how to get know your authentic self, I wrote a previous post about my explorations so far: The Path to My Authentic Self
An aside:
Dear Evan Hansen is a beautiful emotional punch of a musical. It tells the story of a high school student who is plagued with social anxiety, who lacks a sense of self-worth and feels invisible to the world. As events unfold, the audience realizes that in fact, every character in the story - from overachieving classmate, to wealthy parents, to school bully - suffers from this in their own way. “You will be found” is the powerful message that arises as the characters begin to truly see through each other’s protective armour, realize each others’ pain, and form deeper connections to help each other heal. The musical resonated deeply with me, and it helped me see my past struggles and current spiritual journey in a new light. If you’re in Toronto, I highly recommend that you go see it (https://www.mirvish.com/shows/dear-evan-hansen).
On healing in the darkness