Walking with strangers

The words are familiar though they come from different voices. They are thoughts and words belonging to the past and to others who felt the same long before me. They are reminders of how similar we are, we strangers
of commonality.

There is nothing expressed today that has never been orated or written before. Perhaps the words are rearranged, different adjectives are used, the emotions emphasized more or less, and yet I see parallels between myself and these individuals who've vacated the present but whose presence will forever be tangible. Their words, though expressed in the past, will influence my future. It does not matter that I have no intimate knowledge of these individuals, they've left their mark upon my life through association.

Science may deem me unique by cell structure and DNA but that is where my singularity seems to end. Whether by social cultivation, a heritage of inherent feminine traits passed along, or intent by a creator to delineate the sexes, I find few differences between myself and these other females. Though varying to some degree, the same needs drive us, the same emotions spur us or bring us down, and the lines separating us become blurred.

It does not bother me that I and they share certain traits, that they shadow my footsteps, or that their words are retained and treasured. What bothers me is that I don't stand apart from the rest. Recognizable patterns emerge and I find I'm a carbon copy in someone else's lifeplan and, if they belong to the past, what does that bode for my future? It is obviously our similarities that brought us all to this place but it is just as obvious that our similarities don't offer certainty. There again, what in Life is certain?

So, what if I read words which echo my own (or, in this case, my own echo someone else's) or find common links to strangers I'll never know? None of that is important. What I find interesting is the pattern beneath this gathering of individuals and the quest for understanding exactly what has me standing in their vacated position. Beyond that is the desire to find or create my own uniqueness...for myself...so that I remain standing with no empty footsteps to defend.