Ahhh, so sometimes I DO keep track of who posts what. Sometimes when it is a picture or a meme I take a picture of it on my iPad or my iPhone. That way I can go back and give credit to who posted and supply any other details. I didn’t think I would be posting that Nia video that I used in my last post, so I didn’t think to document who originally posted it to Facebook. Tonight I was looking through my pictures trying to find some inspiration for a post. I found a picture with a quote that touched my heart when I read it . . . .that is why I took a picture of it. My friend Michelle Casey had liked it or commented on it or something that caused it to show on my newsfeed under her name. When I read it again just now I wanted to post it so I looked more closely to see who it was from. I Googled the name in the watermark. All that came up was a Facebook page. I went to the “About” page of that Facebook page, it disclosed that nothing posted on that Facebook page was from the owner of the page. She just found things on the internet and posted them on her page. She said IF she knew who they were from she gave credit. But every picture on her Facebook page had HER information. And since it took me about 60 seconds to find the actual person who said the quote she posted on her page, I think that perhaps she doesn’t actually TRY to find the original author of the things she posts . . . but whatever . . . that is part what the internet has created. Even me, I am going to use someone else’s words as a post on my blog because they spoke to me when I first saw them. They are wonderful and I knew that I would want to come back to them and probably need to know who said them so I saved the picture to my device. They spoke to me now when I re-read them. They are the words of Iain Thomas.
My initial “Google” showed they were words from Kurt Vonnegut which caused my head to spin. That seemed a little out of character even with my limited knowledge of Kurt Vonnegut . . . so I dug a little deeper. I mean, one more “Google” and I found something that said “Be soft is NOT Kurt Vonnegut but Iain Thomas”. A search of Mr. Thomas showed it was him.
So thank you Iain Thomas for saying something that resonates with so many. Thank you for being so kind about how we just post your words about. I first read your words when my mom was sick or dying and so they meant a lot. And now that I am dealing with her death they are even more important.
I will strive to stay soft, especially when there is such a strong push for women to be hard. I will work to not let the world make me so. I will strive to not let pain be a catalyst for hate. And I will continue to struggle against bitterness stealing my sweetness. And I will stand tall and recognize the beauty of the world even when others try to dictate how I should feel, how I should act, and what I should see. Thank you, Mr. Thomas. I will strive to your quote.
Does this quote speak to you? What do you think about it?
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