I’ve been threatening to write about family for a while now. And I thought I’d finally get down to explaining the term today. Remember, you heard it here first. 
A lot of what I write about is inspired by the pursuit of happyness. And one of the key factors that contributes to our happiness (in my humble opinion) is a support system that, well, supports us through our journey. I call this support system framily since they comprise of friends who are like family and family who are like friends.
I’ve found my framily to be a massive contributor to my happiness and a massive help when times have been rough. It’s almost like having a band of fellow travellers with you on a journey. Great company makes for great journeys. And I find myself making an conscious effort to spend as much of my time with these folk. Over the course of the past couple of years, I’ve increasingly realized that the time we have with the ones we love is very limited. Heck, life is short and time is way too precious to be spent with people we don’t enjoy spending time with.
Anyway, two of the younger members of this group met an older and wiser member of framily yesterday. They were amazed at how much similarity I shared with this friend. I couldn’t help smiling when they spoke of their surprise. I joked about them meeting the 4 other older and wiser members of this group that I’m most influenced by and then completely figuring me out.
I am aware that there is a tremendous amount of talk of people being self made. I don’t buy the concept. We are typically a unique mix of the people we choose to spend time with, and get influenced by. All their traits, abilities and views typically get filtered by our value system and the output is, as a result, something only we would be capable of i.e. it comes out in our own style. This is one of the big reasons I talk about spending time with people we learn from because we are almost entirely defined by the company and counsel we keep.
The other thing I pointed out to them was that there experience would be like meeting Qui-Gon and Yoda and realizing the lineage of thought that flows through Obi-Wan. This is a Star Wars analogy, of course. But, you often get tremendous insight into people when you meet their parents and you see the lineage of thought flow through. It’s similar when you meet close mentors, close friends and other influences.
So, today, I thought I’d thank all those who’ve spent time educating and inspiring me. That includes the many of you who I’ve met online on this blogging journey. I owe you a lot more than I realize. A large part of what’s written here is thanks to all your influences.
And, most importantly, most of who I am is also thanks to all of you. Some, more than others. But, isn’t that the way of things?
We choose and attract our influences, and hence, choose and attract those who shape us. So, here’s some food for thought..
What choices are we making on an everyday basis?
Who do we attract into our lives?
And who are responsible for the lineage of thought in our lives?
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Have a great weekend, everyone!
A Learning a Day 