{"id":7896,"date":"2017-02-21T00:42:01","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T06:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=7896"},"modified":"2017-02-21T00:42:01","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T06:42:01","slug":"be-authentic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=7896","title":{"rendered":"Be Authentic…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

A good friend of mine, one that I have immense respect for, wrote, “You know you’re living an authentic life when everyone doesn’t like you…you said no, drew lines in the sand, spoke up or perhaps said nothing, and it was wildly unpopular. An intention only to please others and to be liked, is a disease that has filled cemeteries all over the world.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Such a profound statement…<\/p>\n

Most of my life I tried to be kind to others, probably to a fault. \u00a0I didn’t want to share any bad news, no negativity. \u00a0I never wanted to talk about problems – to me there were no problems, only challenges to be overcome. \u00a0I was always trying to lift people’s spirits, as it was very important to me.<\/p>\n

Then after Morgan was murdered, smiling on the outside, while I was dying on the inside, finally got to be too exhausting. \u00a0I started to open up more and more with people. \u00a0I started to share the facts about what happened to Morgan. \u00a0Next I made a shocking discovery, as many other parents of murdered children do…most people, sometimes even your own family, and friends, don’t want to know what happened – they don’t want to talk about it, they don’t even want to bring up your child’s name. \u00a0There are many reasons for this. \u00a0Sometimes they are so upset they want to just “forget” about it, because they can’t cope, sometimes they don’t know how to talk about it, because it makes them “uncomfortable,” and sometimes they want you to “just get over it,” so they can have their friend back the way they used to be. \u00a0And I am sure there are many more reasons people have for not wanting to talk about it – but none of those reasons really work for me. \u00a0I realize it is not my job in life to change their opinions. \u00a0I had to realize those people would no longer be involved in my life.<\/p>\n

Through the pain of losing my youngest daughter I have learned to be authentic. \u00a0I speak my mind, for myself, for Morgan, and for all other victims as well…all those who can no longer speak for themselves. \u00a0I chose to be upfront, honest, and push forward towards justice with love. \u00a0If others don’t like it, that is fine with me – this is my life, not theirs. \u00a0I know I can’t make everyone happy, so I no longer try. \u00a0I believe in the path I have chosen, and that path gives me happiness. \u00a0Being of service to other victims, and co-victims brings warm happiness to my heart. \u00a0The pain of losing Morgan never goes away – I just learn to live with it. \u00a0I are forever changed because a piece of my heart is missing, and I know deep down that I am still here for a reason. \u00a0I know it is now my turn to try to make a difference in this world, and in doing so I honor my precious daughter Morgan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not \u2018get over\u2019 the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross<\/a><\/p>\n

To understand grief a little better here is a pretty good article to read…it can help you talk with a friend who really needs you after a great loss in their life.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/0-17928\/what-i-wish-more-people-understood-about-losing-a-child.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A good friend of mine, one that I have immense respect for, wrote, “You know you’re living an authentic life when everyone doesn’t like you…you said no, drew lines in the sand, spoke up or perhaps said nothing, and it … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88894,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[39],"tags":[1193,1194,1140,1195],"class_list":["post-7896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tonis-reflections","tag-beauthentic","tag-grief","tag-justiceformorganingram","tag-you-cant-make-everyone-happy-so-do-what-you-know-to-be-right"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2wvjS-23m","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5594,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=5594","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":0},"title":"Share Your Story…","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"April 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember everyone...share your story, shout it out, and say it clear, so the whole world can hear - why - because your story is important, and it just may help save another person. There are so many others going through similar horrifying situations, and the more we share, the more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan's Investigation"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan's Investigation","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=490"},"img":{"alt_text":"share your story please","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/share-your-story-please-300x107.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10216,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=10216","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":1},"title":"Happy New Year Everyone!","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"January 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"2018 was actually an amazing year in our pursuit of justice for Morgan. \u00a0There were major developments and huge revelations made...people came forward with new information and Team Morgan is doing amazing things! \u00a0I am so grateful for everyone who is helping on our journey to justice - you all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan's Investigation"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan's Investigation","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=490"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/images.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1766,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=1766","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":2},"title":"Just a quick reminder…","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"October 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A reader just asked me a question and I thought it was important to share with everyone: I know you get a lot of good ideas and suggestions from your comments that maybe you don't want others to see. Maybe if you did a blog to let people know if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stalking"","block_context":{"text":"Stalking","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tceye-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2364,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=2364","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":3},"title":"One of our readers sent in this information; I thought it would be good to share with you all – the more we are educated about things, the safer we will all be, as well as our children","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"November 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Please read & share with others in conversation. \u00a0Facts and education are key to stopping so many criminals before they can escalate. \u00a0Especially for our law enforcement officers. STALKERS: Most stalkers are what Zona (1993) and Geberth (1992) call \u201cSimple Obsessional\u201d or, as Mullen and Pathe put it (1999) \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stalking"","block_context":{"text":"Stalking","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8404,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=8404","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":4},"title":"Help Solve This Unsolved Crime – Justice For Morgan!","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"June 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Please share with everyone you know, and if you can please Tweet a link to this post to any, or all, the Colorado Representatives listed in the hash tags below (especially Kent Lambert of the 9th District where the crime occurred @KentLambert \u200f) ...let's get justice for Morgan! Morgan loved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan Ingram"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan Ingram","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Screen-Shot-2017-06-15-at-9.28.57-AM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Screen-Shot-2017-06-15-at-9.28.57-AM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Screen-Shot-2017-06-15-at-9.28.57-AM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8074,"url":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?p=8074","url_meta":{"origin":7896,"position":5},"title":"Morgan Ingram Scholarship for Theatre @ CMC","author":"Toni Ingram","date":"April 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Just wanted to share with you all again, the Morgan Ingram Scholarship for Theatre, that was set up right after her death. \u00a0This year's application deadline is over, and now I am waiting to hear who was awarded this year's scholarship. \u00a0Education was a HUGE thing in Morgan's life and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan Ingram"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan Ingram","link":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/morgansstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/MJI-scholarship-CMC.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/88894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7896"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7945,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7896\/revisions\/7945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgansstalking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}