Independence –we are always influenced

May 9th 2024

We often hear people say, ‘I want to be free, I don’t want to be influenced by anybody.’ But what they do not know is that influence is a law of life. They are constantly being influenced by everything they eat, breathe, touch, taste, hear, see and read. And if they often think that they are free, it is simply because they do not know what influences they are under.
Actually, it is just as well that some people do not know, for if they were aware that they were acting under a good influence, their ridiculous thirst for independence might well lead them to reject it.*
* Related reading:

Freedom is the privilege of the spirit: when it rules in us then we can claim to be free. For this we must learn to reestablish the true hierarchy within us and become king of ourselves. It is through the light of our mind that our feelings, thoughts, instincts and desires are then obeyed.