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Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Likeness is Incredible!
After researching and surfing the web today, I was left wondering: "is there any original content anymore?" In fact, someone has probably already addressed this exact question elsewhere! With so many like-minded people in the world, how is it possible to possess an original thought or create a unique piece? Perhaps the wording is slightly different, paraphrased and tweaked just enough to appear distinct on the surface, but you will come across the same meaning time and time again.
This is written from my perspective, but I guarantee that if you research this argument, you will find someone else sharing a common view. I am intentionally not going to search for a similar work because it will likely sway this post. Instead, I will continue to state my theory and encourage you to find out for yourself just how alike our thought processes are.
Besides great advancements in technology and other scientific studies, I would guess there is little originality. And even in those areas, someone may have envisioned the same concept and had no means to execute it. Missing the opportunity or failing to patent a discovery does not prove that an invention or method of doing something, protected by intellectual property rights, was the first of its kind in the creator's mind. Credit may be given to the most active in exposing the technology to the masses, but the idea could have developed in a like-minded person years before.
Are we simply a world of copycats? Literally, a world full of carbon copies? Does it even matter?
Plagiarism is a literary crime in the land of literature. Giving credit where credit is due is fundamental. Writers want to ensure that their voice is theirs alone, to be shared not stolen and passed along as another's. Personally, I have skimmed a text or two during my undergrad and graduate school years to fulfill an assignment. After creating what I thought to be an original paper, I've gone back to check a fact only to realize I had nearly copied content verbatim.
Content I hadn't read prior to writing the paper, thoughts I had developed in my mind I felt were suitable to put on paper, were almost identical to another's. In order to fulfill the assignment requirements, I had to rephrase my own "original". How can that be explained? Now, I'm no literary savant. I have a passion for writing and want to hone my craft, but how can I be capable of writing a textbook?! Especially one from which I was learning and previously unfamiliar. Like-minded people are the simplest explanation.
Thinking alike leads to decisions and actions that are very much alike.
Still not convinced? That's why you say or hear "I was thinking the exact same thing" or "I was just about to say that" or "jinx, knock on wood" or "I said the same thing!" Why are you not surprised when you find out you share the same zodiac sign with a person of a like-mind?
That's why we use clichés and colloquialisms. Someone has already thought and arranged the words "telling it like [we] see it". For those who don't know, a colloquialism is "a word, phrase, or expression characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/colloquialism). For example: "He's out" instead of "He's not at home."--- Now pay attention!
You'll find yourself starting a question with "is it just me…" when you already know it's not. That's why you're asking the question for some sort of validity or credibility from a like-mind.
We experience deja vu. We say, "That brings back memories" when someone does or says something we've experienced previously. I don't believe in coincidence. Maybe we're linked telepathically, spiritually, mentally. No matter how you say it--, we are connected. So now, my epiphany is your epiphany.
One of my favorite phrases is "the belly of the beast". Don't worry about why? Half of you will think that's Satanic, and the other half will think of Jonah and the Whale. Remember, I said "belly of the beast" not "mark of the beast". Don't be freaked out-- haven't you been reading-- we are like-minded people. I'm inside your head right? Well you're all inside mine too. Get used to it. It's just how it is.
"Make no mistake" (I love that phrase too); we all want the same things, people. You want happiness. You want to be loved. You want to be debt-free. You want a little mad money tucked away. You want to be healthy. You want to be attractive. You want some good lovin'. You want to be appreciated. If you have a family, you want to balance work and family life. These desires are in no particular order, just commonly shared with so many.
Let's test my theory with a little experiment.
Fill in the blanks:
In Good Company
By Robin Jessie-Green
"The more I think I'm different
The more similarities I _____
Of like-minded people
Who are just like _____
It's no secret that it's an act of fate
Which drives us closer to those
to whom we can ______
I don't mind not being unique
This is how it should be--
I actually find comfort in knowing
I'm in good _______!"
Remember, it's not about the differences but the similarities. Simply finding that common tie and perceiving it as someone telling you they've been through it too, is what truly matters most. Find comfort in knowing you're not alone; there are so many just like you, just like me.
Friday, February 5, 2021
CENSORED by vocal.media A Drug Addict Saved My Life Part 6: Covering All Bases
I’m the baby of five. I haven’t seen one of my sisters and my only brother in years. Mona is my oldest sister from another mother, and Nina is my older sister from another father. Nina and I grew up together in the same household. While we always knew Mona as our sister, we didn’t live with her. Both of these chicks became mother hens when I was in the hospital.
My oldest sister and I don’t communicate often, but I love her dearly. She is genuine and kind but tough. Mona had her own resurrection experience five years prior to mine. After complications due to knee surgery, she developed a blood clot, which ultimately led to her heart stopping. They brought her back.
She had to relearn to walk and spent a month in a rehab hospital. Forever changed by her medical trauma, she knew all too well what I was going through. So, Mona visited me every day for nearly a year. She fasted and prayed for my recovery. Prayers were going up from all over the world from believers and non-believers alike. Family, friends and strangers were wishing me continued life.
Nina cared for me like her doll baby when we were younger. She fed me my bottles when our mother was ill, and mastered sliding down the staircase with me in her arms. She was 5 and I was only months old. As time went on, her role became more of my equal than of my big sis. Our personalities differ, but we think the same when it comes to what matters most. After our mother died, we were all that remained. We are family.
We were brought up in the church, and were taught not to mess around with things we did not understand. No ouija boards, no witchcraft, no hoodoo, voodoo or blasphemous speech. Pentecostal Christians didn’t wear large earrings or skirts above the knee to church, and we didn’t take the Lord’s name in vain.
There are things we do not understand in life that are commonly labeled supernatural. Intuition, vibes, bad mojo, chills, surges, roots-- the unexplainable. Thoughts of this nature began to sprout in the minds of my sisters. They believed someone put roots on me.
Mona and Nina had a conversation about the origin of my illness. For a time, the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. All they knew was that I had an aggressive respiratory infection. I was deteriorating rapidly. I required a ventilator and later an ECMO. It was strange because I was previously healthy. If this had occurred in 2020, it would scream COVID-19 Coronavirus. Whatever it was, my sisters believed someone was behind it.
Whether it's superstition or to be explained scientifically at a later time, some things require special attention by someone experienced in the area of the unknown. Mona was willing to place her hard earned savings in the hands of anyone who could potentially protect me from harm. Faith without works is dead. So Mona and Nina prayed and they hired back up, just in case.
Both of my sisters felt someone meant me harm. Plagued with this increasingly nagging feeling, Mona sought the counsel of someone she trusted who was familiar with this sort of thing. She was told someone was angry with me about money matters and resentful that we were no longer a romantic item. The truth is, more than one person could have fit that description.
I was blessed. My bed was blessed. My pillow was blessed. My home was blessed. Actions were taken to cover all bases. I believe in a higher power. I believe there is evil in the world. I know I’ve made an enemy or three, but I never considered that someone would wish death upon me.
I believe in God. I know He is the source of my medical miracle. When the medical professionals thought I was going to die, and I felt my life slipping away, God had plans to keep me above ground. But temporarily, my heart stopped beating.
There was a point when I was in an unknown realm. I didn’t see a white light, but I had an experience. I couldn’t see my body, but I could sense my presence. I was engulfed in darkness, but it wasn’t scary or menacing in any way. I was cloaked and comforted. Sitting in front of me, slightly to the right was a random shaggy, sandy brown mid-sized dog.
About a year later, I remembered that our family dog Springer died when I was seven. He was a medium-built Springer Spaniel Poodle mix with a shaggy, sandy coat. Springer strangled from his leash that was latched to the fence in the backyard. I hadn’t thought about him in decades.
The good book says to beware of fortune-tellers and soothsayers, but if you believe in the power of prayer isn’t there an opposing force?
If in fact, someone was up to no good, I now know that my Protector is stronger and my light shines brighter because "with his stripes, I am healed...". (Isaiah 53:5)
“My grandma and your grandma were sittin’ by the fire. My grandma told your grandma, gonna set your soul on fire!” ~Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters
An honor an a pleasure written by Robin L. Jessie-Green
an elegy for someone who is loved.
Witnessing your first and last breaths.
Helping you take your first and last steps.
Praying for guidance while facing an uncertain path.
Living unpredictable days not knowing how long you’d last.
Wanting to come home to pass in your own space.
Having control over how you lived out your last days.
Taking mental pictures to memorize your sweet boy’s face.
Being called home by God at His pace.
And although your humor was still very much alive
worry and anguish shrouded you.
Because your body was failing and no longer able to thrive
you needed us around you.
Like when you were a baby,
there was no place we’d rather be than beside our sweet little girl
who grew up to be a remarkable lady--
A truly good human being in this unmerciful world.
Towards the end, frail in body but still a Warrior in mind.
With a sense of humor,
a sense of dignity,
a sense of motherhood like no other--
truly one-of-a-kind.
Battling the pain you felt--
It was clear it would only be a matter of time….
Realizing you were never getting better, felt--
like the truest of crimes.
Fighting back tears and a burning choke
from this tightness in our chests
and a swelling lump in our throats
Swallowing down our cries inside, so we can cope.
You'll always be a heartbeat away
because we’re keeping you close.
There are major things we'll never see you do.
Like taking the arm of a man deserving
and hearing you say, “I do.”
There are simple things
we'll never get to say again.
Like, “Hey Vivian, remember that time when….”
Blessed to be your parents from the beginning until now--
Girl, you made us so proud!
Living life to the fullest, vibrant, active and Laughing Out Loud!
How deeply you’ve touched our hearts cannot be measured,
Sweet Child of ours and of The Divine.
We just wanted you to know,
it’s been both an honor and a pleasure.
We'll see you again...when it's our time.
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