Influence

When I first saw this image, I was moved by the dramatic power of the silhouetted tree in the foreground… then the one in the distance… then the stub of either a new tree or the remains of an old one in the far removed… then a similarity appeared to me. All of these trees have been influenced by the forces of a prevailing wind that, quite obviously, has made itself known to the scene for a long while.

My mind then went to the effects of influences on our lives that appear to those who look at us from all manner of perspectives, over spans of time, or in brief glimpses. Do we not reflect the shaping and molding influences of myriad contributors to our growth and development (the "winds of influence" on our lives)? I then began to wonder what Thinkers of the past have had to say about this matter of “Influence.”

So, My Dear Reader, I invite you to join me as we sit together under the darkening boughs of this demonstrative tree and consider the musings of some of Life’s notable individuals as they address the subject of the influences of:

Life’s Seasons
Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Friendship
When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that 'a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing him of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause is really a good one.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Each of Us All
Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.
Henry George (1839 - 1897)

One’s Parent
Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.
Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

One’s World
In Life, only a few persons influence the formation of our character; the multitude pass us by like a distant army. One friend, one teacher, one beloved, one club, one dining table, one work table are the means by which one's world and the spirit of one's world affect the individual.
Jean Paul Richter (1763 - 1825)

One’s Studies
Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

A Teacher
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
Henry Adams (1838 - 1918), The Education of Henry Adams

One’s Person on others
It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people's lives.
Clint Eastwood (1930 - )

The whimsy of a Community
In the late 19th century Evanston, Illinois, nicknamed "Heavenston" by Frances Willard, was a Methodist-minded town, so pious that the town fathers, resenting the dissipating influence of the soda fountain, passed an ordinance forbidding the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday. Some ingenious confectioners, obeying the law, served ice cream with syrup but no soda. This soda-less soda was the Sunday soda, and became so popular that orders for "Sundays" crossed the counter everyday of the week. When objection was raised to christening the dish after the Sabbath, the spelling was changed to Sundae, and so developed one of America's most characteristic dishes.
William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943)

One’s Early Childhood Development
I believe there are few whose view of life has not been affected by the stern or kindly influences of their early childhood, which threw them in upon themselves in timidity and reserve, or drew them out in genial confidence and sympathy with their fellow creatures. Basil W. Maturin (1847-1915)

Inner Virtue
One ought to seek out virtue for its own sake, without being influenced by fear or hope, or by any external influence. Moreover, that in that does happiness consist.
Diogenes Laertius (fl. early 3rd Century)

All of these having been noted, please permit my reminder that nothing in our lives is without consequence. All that we do and all that we allow to be done makes a mark… creates an influence in the conscious or sub-conscious/ present or future awareness of any and all exposed to it. And, by the same measure, all that we allow to touch us in any area of our Being influences us in some way. Herein, we have the advantage over the tree. We all… each and every one of us… have some measure of control over what we give license to touch us. We bear responsibility for the influences accessing our thinking, our health, our behavior, and our Spirit. This is the gift that Life blesses us with… and the opportunity that resides in each election that we make in each moment of our lives. I humbly ask that you treasure and respect the precious quality of your Self as you choose the elements that are touching you today.

To the extent that I have presented you some fresh perspective on the influences on your life and the influences that your life is making , I offer you my very best of wishes and warmest of regards as I remain, Your loving Friend and constant Servant,

John-Michael


IMAGE through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com