Are the words any less true when I speak them than when they were originally spoken? Is this discovery any less poignant for me than the one who penned these words or vice versa? Do these thoughts lose their value in the retelling?
This ability to absorb information and make it unique, redefining ones view of oneself and the world, makes a human extraordinary. These words, once I process and understand them, become mine. So few people ever seek the deeper meaning in another’s statements, be it written or spoken, that it gives those who use the words of another individual to validate a point a bad image. The words themselves are, on the surface, less than a tithe of the total meaning contained therein. This rainbow of human understanding and emotion behind a quote changes with each person who hears and understands it. Each time these identical words are passed on they become unique, new, and inspiring in ways their creator couldn’t have imagined.
I can no more expect a person hearing these syllables from me to glean the same understanding as I did, than I can assume that the meaning they hold for me is exactly what their originator held them to mean. If this sounds to you to be justification for verbal and mental plagiarism, then you heard something other than what I said. Luckily, that’s your right.
