Today, while looking at gray skies in this weekend of storms (no one really out on the streets--people have stayed inside, awaiting the next downpour), I am watching a tree, three stories high, sway gently in the wind. This scene turns my thoughts to how we too are swayed by another kind of force, the power of influence. Certainly empty streets bare the influence of weather reports, warnings, alerts and sirens. Yet, there always the few who simply go their own way, Influence--the power to effect change in opinion, behavior, and actions--can be complex for human beings. We are affected by and emulate opinions and actions of others, often unconsciously, but we also consciously seek advice and pay attention to the choices and actions others around us, directly and indirectly. And we in turn, influence others, with or without intention. This ability is one of the human traits that binds us together, reinforces community and in relationship, mutual support. But influence can also be a less desirable tendency that reinforces power and value systems that exclude and divide. If we are easily influenced, we can fail to develop our own uniqueness and the capacity to make decisions for our own well-being.
Influence has evolved to be a powerful tool in commercialism that parallels industrial development. Centuries ago, even early bartering systems, sales depended on word of mouth and local opinion. With the printing press, advertising could be shaped by language, as well as image, for broader appeal. Testimonials for a product added another dimension. The Age of Radio, followed by television honed the "commercial" as a new powerful tools for influence.
Following those came the reign of "infomercials", program length presentations to entertain or offer "information", but used as a form of influence for the sale of specific products, as the lines between information and advertising blurred. In the 21st century, we now have social media with professional (paid) 'Influencers', who further blur the distinction between opinion and fact, entertainment, personal connections and celebrity status. They are particularly powerful 'informers" for millennial and later generational followers. In a world that offers such a dazzling array of choices, it's easy to forget that these are paid, well-disguised marketers.
The point of this reflection is that we do rely on others in navigating the complexity of modern life. This is likely to become more so, rather than less, as the 21st century progresses, unless we abdicate our choices to computerized algorithms, rather than shared value systems in a sense of exchange within community. It's a good time to consider the 'influencers' in the course of your life and the influence you hold with others. Beyond community though, there is the pull of the inner, deeper Influence of your spirit, the imbedded wisdom and guidance that leads us, as we turn to It. The spiritual life is not a battle between the ways of the world and the ways of God. Rather, it is a growing into the understanding that God is right here, right now, in this world. Guidance comes through every possible form in this world, as we give way to a spiritual life.
(Susan Nettleton)
for more, follow the link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse... (P.S., Robert Penn Warren wrote "All the King's Men".)
Even in our illusions, God speaks: https://allpoetry.com/Last-Night-As-I-Was-Sleeping