What are the influencers in our lives? There are many and each has both a
good and bad side. Family upbringing can give you a strong desire to live your
life making good choices but the opposite can happen if you have a poor family
support system. Friends and associates influence your life especially when
you’re young and trying to fit in or figure things out. Status and possessions
also are influencers throughout your life.
Every person you meet has the potential to influence your life. The more
people you meet the more you expand your knowledge of the outside world.
Limiting these encounters limits your ability to recognize when you are being
influenced.
There have been many masterful influencers both good and bad. Many cult
leaders are great influencers but their purpose is self-serving.
It’s a part of life that we all deal with on a daily basis. It takes
recognizing the good and bad influences to make good choices.
We make hundreds of choices everyday; some become so automatic that we
barely consider it a choice. Some choices are given great consideration but
many of our choices are routine. How do the influences in our life affect our
choices? If you were brought up by a nurturing family that guided you through
life, giving you important advise along the way, you’re path to success and
happiness would be easy to see.
Growing up without a supportive family or no family, your choices would
be limited by hopelessness. Imagine growing up in a country where everyday is
about survival. This is where a young person can be influenced by a can of
beans or a place to sleep. They think of the future as the next day, not their
life as an adult. Maybe, they don’t believe there is a chance to be an adult,
so they choose based on those expectations. Repeated bad choices can blind you
from good choices.
This is how hopelessness is born. The choice of survival always wins over
righteousness. Born into jeopardy is different than choosing jeopardy.
It’s wrong to judge, I’ve heard people say. But, how do we live in peace
without judging others for their crimes. We can’t and we shouldn’t, but judge
the crime not the person or their nationality. That won’t be easy, because we
see the people as thugs or sometimes just plain evil. Excess guns and mental
condition are often blamed and they both maybe a contributing factor, but isn’t
lack of opportunity really the main factor? If people feel they have an
opportunity to better their self by making better choices they are given hope.
Actions drive consequences, as they should. Many criminals go to jail for
their crimes, but many of the mass murders take their own life before jail
becomes an option. This leaves us feeling empty for the innocent lives lost and
for a murderer that will never be punished.
As with many problems there can be many answers or partial answers. No
one person or group knows what the right solutions to eliminate violence, but I
can guarantee that doing nothing, changing nothing is not the answer. “Just
Saying...”
