The Awakening Poem

I wrote this poem to help others who, like me, have endured great loss or have faced difficult life challenges and could therefore benefit from feeling hope or become inspired. I began writing The Awakening, the poem featured on the home page of this site, when my mother was undergoing chemotherapy, knowing I would lose her sooner than I had expected. 

 

I printed a draft of my work to share with friends for feedback, but at some point a copy was stolen and eventually uploaded online—without my knowledge and more importantly, without my consent. Soon after, altered versions began appearing across multiple social media platforms. 

 

Some people shared my work as “Author Unknown,” thanking whoever wrote it for helping them through difficult times. I was deeply humbled and deeply moved that my words could reach and support others. After all, the ability to touch people is what makes writing worth it. And by the time I realized what happened, my poem had traveled the world helping many. 

 

Others, however, falsely claimed my work as their own.

 

I discovered people arguing online over ownership of something I had written—while I remained completely unaware it was even happening at first, but a simple search quickly revealed more than I expected. One individual, in particular, fought for credit as if their identity depended on it. It made me reflect on how painful it must be to feel so unseen for that person, where claiming someone else’s work becomes the only way to feel valued.....or seen. 

 

I read LIE after LIE about something they did not create, it was both baffling and disheartening. Their behavior revealed a kind of desperation—an emptiness that no amount of false recognition can truly fill. I saw their inner hatred, I realized they felt self loathing from feeling worthless. And, I oddly enough felt sad for them because I realized the only thing driving them was their EGO. These people were fixated on getting validated by complete strangers online only via stealing from a complete stranger. It was just about materialism and superficial worth for them. 

 

One person even claimed the poem was about a “bad breakup.” As I read that, I could not help but return to the moment that inspired me to write the poem: watching my mother endure chemotherapy session after session, watching her fragile body be exhausted, ultimately wasting away on a hospital bed, knowing she would soon lose the fight for her life. It was that pain, that experience, what helped me realize what is truly important in life, thus giving birth to The Awakening.

 

This poem comes from lived experience—from knowing loss, from reaching internal growth, and from a reflection that can only exist after you let go of the greatest human weakness, the EGO. These words therefore, could only be composed by someone who has first handedly realized that what truly matters in life is NOT recognition, but recognizing...that the true value of life is in giving, not in taking....and that time, is irreplaceable. 

 

My words were written to help others—a gift to humanity---not to be taken, altered, or used for personal recognition by those who have not done the necessary inner work and who can therefore not write from the heart. 

 

To those who plagiarized my work: reflect on why you feel the need to live through others. STOP to think how your EGO controls you. People who plagiarize and alter literary works to call them their own, use empty expressions that only cause original messages to be lost through text that mostly reflects ego driven personalities, and not the original message birthed from a selfless person. Therefore, let go of your EGO and of the ENVY in your heart, let go of the HATE and JEALOUSY that controls you, so that you can write from a place of love. 

 

If you live as an imposter is because you only feel alive and noticed through others, and because you feel meaningless. Change how you treat the world--and how you feel about yourself---will change too. Plagiarizer, the more you steal, the more worthless you become. Learn to value yourself. Stop envying others and Stop hating yourself. 

 

My intention with this poem has never been to seek personal recognition, as may be the case for those who plagiarized me. On the contrary, my aim continues to be that those who read my work find comfort, strength, hope, and inspiration. 

 

Despite everything, I am grateful because my poem has reached several people around the world and it has helped many—and that is what matters to me. Besides, I know the truth of where this poem came from. I know the truth about these words, and that I wrote them. 

 

To those who have shared unauthorized versions: I kindly ask that you replace them with the authentic, unaltered version here and provide proper credit to the original author, Judith Espinosa. To everyone who has supported and respected my work—thank you!

 

All versions of The Awakening beginning with “There comes a time in life when you finally get it…” that are not as seen on this site, or without proper credits to Judith Espinosa, are unauthorized and mere altered copies.​

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The author,

Judith Espinosa

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