Your Circle of Friends Can Shape Your Life Arc

Ok, so we are off to Orlando, Florida tomorrow for Lead365 Conference.  Today was get what needs to be done day, and as anyone can attest to this:  You never seem to get it all done.  LOL.

However, before the day slips away I was in thought.  [Well, the laundry is going, and I am at the computer -- might as well put thought to paper/screen]  Do you ever "friend check" yourself? Let me put a disclaimer on that question.  I am not saying FBI/CIA/HSA/NSA or any other acronym for checking our friends.  Now, that is not the route to take.  Friends come in many different ways in life, and ALL FRIENDS ARE VALUABLE to the person who chooses them to be friends with.

I grew up in a small town, Hempstead, NY.  In comparison to other places it might be considered a large population, but for New York standards, let's call it a small village.  It is located in Long Island, NY.  We lived about 40 minutes from the beach.  It is a beautiful place to grow up, in my opinion.  My High School was unique because it looked like a college.  I was fortunate to have some really influential teachers/educators that still have impact on my life.  I can list Ms. Virgina Hubert, Mr. Sattilli, Ms. Briedas, Ms. Scaramucci, Ms. Kent, Mr. Lee, Mrs. Sumrell, and the list would go on.  I am also, fortunate to call my classmates, who are still on my Facebook page, friends.  They believed that one should surround his/herself with quality people.

As a teenager, we don't get everything that is being taught to us. A fact of life.  As we grow into mature adults, we learn or increase our learning and understanding of the world around us.  I believe that most people do go through the Id, Ego, and Super Ego phases in life.  One of the lessons that is imparted to us is:  You are the Company that You keep.  Whether we accept that statement or not, it generally is true.

There is a passage I was thinking about is Psalms 1.1.  There, it talks about some of the character traits not to surround yourself with, and the result of meditation in the law of God (v.3).  Now contrast that with the Proverbs 13.20, 15.22.  I think that is a good way to look at how we go about surrounding ourselves with people.  I don't recall that money was in the criteria for choosing.  You get the point.

Friendship is based upon who we ultimately choose as our friends.  For whatever reasons, people gravitate towards people.  It could be humor, wit, personality, familiarity, culture, language, or whatever.  It happens.  Where do you see yourself going in life?  I ask that because I can infer that your friends will reveal a lot about that answer.  Going is not necessarily a place or achievement.  Going may be a depiction of where you heart lays, or goals, or values, or where you are in life.

Regardless of what "Going" means to you, it surely has a definition.  It, also, will reveal a certain amount of your Life Arc.  How?  If you wanted to be, per se, an astronaut, or a banker, or a chemist, or a nurse, or whatever,  I would bet that you would be in or near that circle, and most of your friends or acquaintances would be in it too.  What amazes me about the mind is that for some reason, there are individuals that will say they want to be whatever, but never strive to surround themselves with people in that direction.  If you are not what you want to be, at this moment -- no worries -- then you have to step in that direction at some point.  That is called "life gravitational pull."  You will gravitate towards the life you are trying to make.  At least, that is the hope.  Wise people surround themselves with wise people to get wiser.  Make sense?

Ultimately, our circle will shape our Life Arcs in some sense.  I have friends across a wide spectrum that is quite diverse.  However, even I must admit, that some friends, at times, were not good shapers of my Life Arc.  The hope is that we have a Circle of Friends that inspires us to be better people, speak truth when we need to hear it, and most of all provide us with the support and character that we need on this journey.