I was watching the final episode of Dallas (don’t laugh!) where J.R. Ewing was shown how his being born, affected everyone else around him including his brother who would have turned out to be a gambling bum rather than a successful oil executive.
It made me think of the analogy of being asteroids in space, set on our own path until another asteroid touches us and knocks us off course to change our lives for better or for the worse.
All the relationships of people around us — family, friends, colleagues and even strangers all have an effect on our lives, be it large or small.
I would not be who I am without the people around me, and you wouldn’t be either.
As a simple example if I were born in a different country, I would:
- know a different language as my mother tongue
- think differently because of language*
- be raised in a different culture with social norms/mores
- be with different (less or more diverse) friends**
*I read an article somewhere that the languages we learn are the ones that teach us how to think.
There’s a theory floating out there somewhere about Germans for instance, being very structured and organized because their language demands that they be so.
I was told by a German friend that “I saw the dog” is not the same depending on the perspective and how you “saw” the dog.
**I was raised in a very diverse culture with lots of nationalities around me.
However, I know people who have never seen an Asian person in their lives for instance, and are scared of different nationalities when they hit college & have to move out of their towns.
It’s really interesting to think of each of us as asteroids on our own path, touched by different people for better or for worse, as we sail along our path.
The only significant difference between myself and an asteroid is I’d like to think that I can control and choose my path in life, rather than to drift aimlessly in space.
