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. 

 

Later, 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 move people is what makes writing valuable. However, by the time I realized what had happened, my poem had traveled the world....some versions even translated to other languages and uploaded to YouTube with beautiful visuals. Many were inspired or relieved after loss, while fighting addiction, or after learning of a terminal illness....and this brought me great joy. 

 

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

 

I discovered there were people arguing online over ownership of something I had written—I was completely unaware this was happening at first, but a simple search quickly revealed more than I expected. One individual, in particular, fought for credits as if their identity depended on it. This behavior propelled me to reflect on how painful it must be to feel unseen for that person, where only by claiming someone else’s work they could feel valued.....or seen. I tried to reach out and asked that they kindly stop, but they hostility I experienced in return showed me this was not a person with values. This was not a person with ethics or who sincerely cared about helping humanity but rather a person who mainly aimed at getting attention. 

 

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. With their actions I saw their inner hatred and I realized they felt a self loathing that was deeply embedded from feeling worthless. 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 online by complete strangers....via stealing from a complete stranger. It was just about 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 this poem: watching my mother endure chemotherapy session after session, watching her fragile body exhausted and ultimately wasting away on a hospital bed knowing she would lose the fight for her life a lot sooner than we thought. That pain, that experience, is what helped me realize what is truly important in life, giving birth to my 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 just 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 gain 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 it their own, use empty expressions that distorts original messages to merely reflect ego driven personalities. 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. You may surprise yourself.

 

If you live as an imposter is because you only feel alive and noticed through others, 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 to yourself. Learn to value yourself. Stop envying others and Stop hating yourself. Find the courage to be authentic. Then, write what YOU feel. Be sincere, especially with yourself. 

 

My intention with this poem is that those who read my work find comfort, strength, hope, and inspiration. 

 

Despite everything, I am mostly grateful for all the people my words have helped, even if in the tiniest way.This is what matters most, because I know the truth. 

 

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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