As you walk with me through their stories, I invite you to reflect on the voices, stories, and books that have flowed into you to save your life.īefore I’d written anything, I was captivated by the world of story as introduced to me by Miss Forshee, my eighth-grade English teacher. These are the influences that have saved me over the years.
In just this way, a profoundly true story or pouring out of spirit across the ages can swell our roots and save us. Influence, “to flow into.” In ancient astrology, influence means “the flowing that affects human destiny.”Īnd it is the presence of unexpected teachers who flow into us that affects our destiny, the way sudden rain irrigates the roots of a willow that was two dry days from perishing. But first, let’s unpack the word influence, which comes from the Latin influere, a combination of in (into) and fluere (to flow). I want to tell the story of my influences, the voices that transformed my mind so my heart could show itself completely. Certainly, we look for such voices, such teachers, even try to seek them out, only to trip and discover that the enduring teacher is underfoot. It is their influence that stays with us as the presence of kindred spirits who affirm what it means to be alive. If blessed, we are drawn below the words to the voices who brought those books into the world. Nor can you foretell which books will change your life.
You can’t foresee who will have the most influence on your life. Nor can we plan who will be our transformative teachers. Despite all our efforts to prepare, we can’t plan who we will love, or who will be our most trustworthy friends.