As I searched into the archive of my childhood. I found a memory that encapsulates the power of influence. One that I keep recounting from time to time as it helps to substantiate the need to exercise caution in the duplicate pattern we create with the template of our conducts unknowingly. It could be made manifest in two opposite forms, either in the negative or positive. When negative, the vice could linger despite stiff human struggles to curb it and of course it brings great gain when positive. The former can be likened to a baton handed over from the past into the present and if nothing is significantly done to break the vicious cycle it could in a great way shapen the future into its mould. Now enough of the analysis , let's get into the narrative.
I was an innocent and plain minded little boy of about five years old waiting for life to impress my societal norms on me. Owing to the fact that I had a good Christian family background the expectations have it that the indelible imprints on the pages of my heart would be morally sound. But not all my exposures could be monitored and duly censored. The more reason why parents resolved that having done their best in training their wards it takes God to instill his fears and discipline into a child's heart till adulthood. Since it is pretty hard to cage the quest in kids to mingle with their peers, my parent’s out of their liberality allowed me to occasionally visit and play with my friends next door . On one of such visit I was exposed to an act that would have made me pick up an addiction capable of sending me to an early grave. On that fateful day,while playing with my friends, I stumbled on their Dad sitting right in his living room with a piece of paper and some dry leaf-like particles that I couldn't tell what exactly it was then. My intelligent brain made a match with what I saw and what used to be concealed in the lipton tea bag. I saw him carefully placing the substance into the piece of paper, wrapping it up and with a box of matches he lighted it, the end result was thick rich smoke oozing out of both his mouth and his nose. My curiosity was aroused with the smoke as my main attraction point. This must be the next experiment to carry out, I thought to myself. The old man never knew that he had created a replica in my heart and of course immediately I got back home I acted out the script he showed me in oblivion by smoking the content of a lipton tea bag in an hidden corner of my house. It remains a miracle how the act never grew into an habitual lifestyle. It was much later that I discovered that what I actually saw earlier was Indian hemp. Kids need not be told to do what adults do, they only need to watch while it is being done. A principle which in advanced stage bothers on the power of imagery: becoming what you behold. Imagery is what gets me personally intoxicated after watching an inspiring video on YouTube, firing me up with the 'I can' spirit and mind set. It is what makes boys misbehave with wild stunts after watching action movies. It's the same concept upon which mentoring is built. It is why we have role models, the best of which is Jesus. It is why we are glued to social media. Advertisements thrives on this principle. It's also the same principle that answers why we dress for instance like those of the western world. It's just a bit worrisome that the sense of discernment towards what is actually right or wrong about the things we emulate is relatively scarce. It is a very powerful and profound concept that governs our world in both positive and negative ways. Becoming what we behold is regardless of whether we are conscious of it or not. That's why we need to take responsibility for the things we set our gaze on. We should be very deliberate about them . Choosing only the things that motivates, inspires and build up. I can go on and on but I just hope you get to understand the enormous life transforming power of influence. This is my bit to open your eyes to it.
