Influence

there's been a lot on my mind these last few days; probably enough to fill a few posts so I'll let the other ones come later. However, for now, I'll type the first thought that I entertained this week. It was a conversation I had about influence and those who had it on me. It was said that my mother influences me a lot by quite a few people and it's true. The problem is that many people don't know which ideas are mine and which are hers. I agree. Because of this, many feel that I may not really have or know if these ideas are my own.

I gave this quite a bit of thought because it sort of bothered me to know that I am not so much an individual. However, after thinking it through, I wondered if remembered something I read. Are we ever really an individual?

I know in western culture we like to think of ourselves as individuals who make and form conscious decisions but how true is that? We have to realize that human beings are always in relation to one thing or another. In the same way, we are in relation with people and it's so much deeper than we give credit for. I mean, we spend 9 months inside our mother, our genetic make up is a combination of our father and our mother and their parents and their parents etc. We never really escape and form our own identity as much as we would want to believe. Sometimes one has to wonder if they were not influenced by anyone, were would they be? As far as I know, all great thinkers have been influenced by another (and usually previous) great thinker who has inspired them.

And with that, how does one differentiate which ideas are whose?
When does an idea move from the possession of one to another?
It seems that all the great ideas and movements of knowledge are just scaffolds upon one another. I just take another person's good idea and build on it and let others build on me. Is there a problem in my taking of other's ideas and adding to them. Dare I say perfecting them. Who knows?

However, all this did remind me of one thing. Though we strive to be unique and different and our discover our true 'selves', we are eternally locked and perhaps trapped in relationship with everything, everyone and the Creator.

Maybe it's not as bad as we make it out to be.