I Thought I Was Original

I was doing some exercising while watching YouTube videos.

I watched a best of Lost video. That was awesome.

Then I looked back at my recommended videos.

One of them was Kevin Rudd's sorry speech.

I considered watching it but decided I wasn't in the mood for the long speech.

I decided I'd rather watch the GetUp video about the speech.  


Before watching the video, I thought I'd look at the most popular comment—the one that's on the top.

This is part of what it says.

Saying sorry to the stolen generation for all they suffered is not the same as being personally responsible for what they suffered. If a friend's grandma died, surely you would express sympathy for example "I am sorry for your loss" by saying you are sorry, you are not accepting personal responsibility for killing Grandma.

That's extremely close to what I wrote in my post a few hours ago.

 I thought I was being clever and original. Maybe I can give me clever. I can't give me original.

Was it a coincidence that I wrote something so similar?  Maybe.

Or maybe months and months ago, I saw the post and my subconscious remembered it.

That makes me wonder.  How much of my writing is really original? And how much do I unknowingly borrow from others?

It kind of sucks.

And you know what. Someone out there has probably written a post almost exactly like THIS one.

What's maybe worse is when I've recently written something I feel is original and new   Then I'm reading my old posts and see I've said the same thing before.

At least when someone else writes it, I can hope and imagine it's just a wild coincidence. And also looking at the bright side...someone agrees with me on something!

But if I'm repeating my own words? There's not really an excuse, except for having a bad memory and being annoyingly repetitive.   



4 comments:

  1. Even if you say something you have said before, that counts as someone agreeing with you, surely?

    A completely new idea is unique, or groundbreaking. Original is a worthy idea shared by people whose opinion is to be respected, but expressed in an 'original' way.

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  2. Hi. My ideas are original, that's why I'm hated so much. For the latest go to blog Drifting Through Life. She's been married twice, two husbands. I've offered her the Hat Trick but she's in no hurry.

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  3. Fruitcake: I have serious doubts that any idea is original. So probably better to go with the saying...great minds think alike.

    R.H: I think the only way to prove your idea is original is to read everything single thing every written.

    Impossible. Unless you're magical.

    As for being hated.

    People aren't hated for original ideas. If they're hated for an idea; it's because they're being too controversial for their audience.

    I've endured venom on a number of occasions because my viewpoint was disliked by those reading it. Then they happened to have a legion, of those in agreement with them, who could stick up for them against me.

    Some of the ideas that got me in trouble were more rare than others. But none of them are 100% original.

    I know there are people out there who agree with me on the issue...even if they're not among my friends or around and available to speak up for (or with) me.

    Anyway. Try it. Think of one of your most original opinions. Then Google it and see if anyone has said anything similar.

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  4. RH,

    Forgot to say....

    I'll check out the blog.

    It sounds familiar.

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