Surround Yourself

Something keeps nagging at me.

Have you ever heard people say you should surround yourself with people who bring you up or who are successful, or anything along those lines?

Have you ever thought about that statement?

In some way, it might imply that you are not those things. In which case, why would those people want YOU around them?

In another respect, how do some people change and grow? By being around those who are not like them. If those who were in a position to show them something different had that attitude, then they would never spend time with those who didn't fit that mold.

And, in yet one more respect, there are those times you can learn about yourself when you interact with others. There are times you can learn from those you might have otherwise disregarded.

Mother Theresa comes to mind. I don't know about the people who were closest to her, but she certainly spent a lot of time with people in all stages of life - some extremely impoverished. How can you speak to or for another if you are not among them? As I say that I think about our chosen government representatives. And we can all see how that's turning out.

We all are wherever we are. And the more that we can be clear about who and how we are, the less we likely have to be worry about who we surround ourselves with. I suspect we need to worry more when we aren't able to stand in the center of who we are and when we are easily swayed by others. Of course that is not always the easiest thing to do. Many don't know who they are until they have a need to find out.