Authenticity and Sushi Joints.

Once a month my dad and I meet for sushi at our regular japanese restaurant.  Our normal sushi joint is a little place that is hidden off the road, in the back corner of a seedy strip mall.  It’s a place with little signage and fanfare.  It’s a hole in the wall, nestled in between a night school and an adult entertainment establishment.  If you weren’t told about it or if you didn’t stumble upon it, you would never know it was there.

The inside of our sushi joint is uniquely japanese and minimal.  The staff speaks little english and are all dressed in traditional japanese clothes.  They happily greet us with the japanese word for “Greetings”.

The televisions that hang from the ceilings all display the same japanese game shows and there are those special tables in the back where you have to sit on the floor that are closed off for special occasions.  My dad and I sometimes wonder if they will let us sit there, just once.

Because we eat there regularly, the staff knows what we want before we order. A pitcher of hot tea and a glass of water are usually waiting for us.  And while we wait for our food, my dad and I often joke that our sushi joint is the best… because we are the only caucasians in the room.

Our sushi joint is the real thing.  It’s authentic.

The neat thing about authenticity is that you know it when you see it.  It doesn’t try to dress up or shine.  It has no agenda.   It is what it is and if you aren’t ok with that… then too bad.  It’s the same way with people.

Authentic people stick out like a sore thumb but in a good way.  They are unashamed of who they are and what they believe in.  They are a breath of fresh air in a world that seems bent on being just like one another.  Authentic people are a step above the mainstream.

God created us to be authentic.

How are you being authentic today?