"The Power of Influence " Good vs Evil

Good vs Evil

It has been said that wisdom begins with the definition of terms so in an effort to set the tone of this blog, I will begin with a few brief definitions taken from dictionary.reference.com:

Good: Morally excellent; Virtuous; Righteous.
Evil: Morally wrong or bad; Immoral; Wicked.
Moral: of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong;

That being said, I have titled this GBE blog The Power of Influence because I'd like to address the power of association and friendship's effect for good or evil.

Over the almost 2 years I have been blogging, there have been countless folks that have mentioned the fact that they dont have a life purpose and that it was a major cause of concern for them. One of the biggest distractions we have in this area is wrong relationships - wrong relationships can so easily pull you off course from discovering and walking in your purpose.

If we dig a little deeper, its important to understand that truth must be at the core of every relationship. Now human truth is temporal. For example; At 12:30 this afternoon, I was very hungry. At 2pm, I was full. Both true statements, but they changed with time and circumstance. Universal truths and principles, right and wrong, morals, do not change. They are timeless. As Stephen Covey once said, "you cant break the rules of truth, you can only break yourself against them - they are timeless"

So the real question is Who is influencing you? Have you taken the time to evaluate your influencers? Asking questions like; a) Who do I hang with? and b) What do they have me doing? feeling? reading? listening to? saying? c) Is that okay? Try to be objective understanding that good and evil influences will BOTH take you somewhere...where do the scales tip? in what direction?

As a little girl I had big dreams, I wanted to conquer the world - I think we all did ( smile) and as I grew up, I further defined that desire more specifically. I wanted to be a person of skillful language, a gal with a positive attitude, well read, well disciplined, a person of culture and intelligence. I wanted to accomplish the goals I had set out for myself in business, as a parent, as a child of God and who I associated with had a tremendous affect on who I have become.

Make no mistake, I have certainly not arrived, far from it. But having these goals infront of me gives me a standard of measurement to determine if I am on track or off course. Are your associations adding value to your life or do they detract? Are you a better person because of their association or are you caught up in the thicket of a toxic relationship? Believe me, it matters. It matters alot. Chances are, if you hang out with folks who invest and are wealth conscious, over time, you will become wealth conscious...Mama was right on when she said " If you lie with dogs, you'll rise with fleas"

Many years ago, I realized that time is the most precious commodity I have and tomorrow is not promised so I refuse to waste it. Failure to plan and direct ones course is a choice and I refuse to abdicate that responsibility to chance and the whims of others. What a collosal waste! I cannot imagine getting to the end of my life asking myself, what on earth have I accomplished and finding nothing of significance ( shakes head). No way Jose. No way.

So yes, I choose wisely, best i know how and that knowledge grows daily as I mature and increase in wisdom and understanding - its a process, a deliberate process with standards of measuring that growth. Growth as a whole person not just in one area. I have friends who make me a better mom by their association. Some expand my knowledge in areas where I am ignorant like Astronomy - Larry is my professor.

I go to class everytime he blogs about the stars and I expand my base of knowledge. I could name so many of my friends here on Blogspot that have expanded me for good and to them, I am forever thankful and appreciative.When we take the time to read each others blogs, we have the opportunity to enter into dialog with each other and expand each others thought process - something I find very fulfilling and I have grown in the process.

Every once in a while, I will befriend someone through the GBE and when I have the opportunity to visit their page or read a non GBE blog, I realize they are not going to influence me for good so I stay away or limit my time with them depending on the level of toxicity. Thats not being snobbish, its a smart move. I protect my mind the same way I protect my home, I dont allow people to dump their trash there.

I think I have made my point. Not a real touchy, feely, blog I know, but every once in a while we need to take a minute to re-evaluate some things and make a positive change. I do it ALL the time and sometimes I am way off course like my health... I am slowly disciplining myself to do better in that area and I have a long road to hoe.

So that's it folks. Hope I made it palatable and gave you food for thought.

Remember you are loved!