Doppelganger

From the Miriam Webster dictionary site:

          According to age-old German folklore, all living creatures have a spirit double who is invisible but identical to the living individual. These second selves are perceived as being distinct from ghosts (which appear only after death), and sometimes they are described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterparts. In 1796, German writer Johann Paul Richter, who wrote under the pseudonym Jean Paul, coined the word Doppelgänger (from doppel-, meaning "double," and -gänger, meaning "goer") to refer to such specters.


In today’s times it is not uncommon to hear folks talking about doppelgangers. One common expression is that we all have one, that none are exempt. I remember one-time years ago when we went to Las Vegas and I saw what proved to be a doppelganger. Walking toward us in a very crowded Caesar’s Palace was my best friend, Russ. It was confusing, because I knew without any doubt that Russ was in Tennessee at that time. This Russ passed right by us without eye contact or acknowledgement. I turned around and noticed that the golf ball size lump on the neck was there, so I started to follow him. I called his name, and he just continued walking. It simply wasn’t the Russ that I knew. It was his doppelganger. Same exact look, same size (short), same curly red hair, same walk, and same lump, same manner of dress. I was doppelgangered.


Today, when I saw the word doppelganger, it brought to mind that we are all just that—doppelgangers to one degree or another. I’m not saying that we all have them, I’m suggesting that we all are them. In my case, I know for sure that there are two of us who dress alike, look exactly like each other, and have the very same mannerisms. The only difference between the two is how they act and think. One of them, is a good guy, the other one is not. Both of them are a child of God, but one pleases God and the other one doesn’t. Unfortunately, my doppelganger lives in the same body as I do, and I don’t like him. Thank goodness God is working on each one every single day.