There is no such thing as someone not impacting. By our presence alone we change the environment and impact the system we have entered. An example of this happened when I was a young teenager…one with an attitude and what I now realize were friends of questionable character. I certainly didn’t see them that way then!
My mother had questioned multiple times my choices but I saw none of her concerns. One Friday night there was a community dance that I was enthusiastically a part of and my mother was to be arriving a little later in the evening after work as a chaperone. Before she arrived I was completely engaged and saw my group of friends as fun and really quite acceptable even in the high standards of my parents. But…the instant my mother walked through the doors, I looked around the room and saw everything alarmingly differently. I saw through her eyes the activities and characters that were part of my world and I was immediately slammed into another reality. And yes, without a word spoken I saw the questionable character of the friends that were of a strong and negative influence. It was a pivotal and defining moment that changed the trajectory of my life. My mother’s presence alone changed my interpretation of the environment I was in and the living system that I was a part of.
We have spoken of that moment since, and she had a different experience. She felt that it was not as bad as she had previously thought, and had felt that she had been much too judgmental and harsh on those she did not really yet know.
Since that time there have been many times, though more subtle, that I have had experiences of shifts in perspective and I have been very much more aware of them since that day so long ago.
I’m curious…what impact might you unknowingly have? How have others influenced you and your environment simply with their presence.