Have
you noticed this like I have? Whether I love someone or hate them, I
gradually aquire a few of their characteristics, mannerisms and
attitudes over time if I am around them enough or watching them
often. Sometimes, you do not even need to see who you are
'beholding'. Even thinking consistently about someone for long can
change you.
I
have an aquaintance who recently fell in love with a girl and they
are now dating. He respects and cherishes her very much and has
found, to his amusement, that he now says things that were previously
only said by her and even waves goodbye like her. It was his
consistent meetings with and thoughts of this girl that made him
similar to her in these small ways. There are other instances when we
are impacted by others and it is not to our good. Sometimes it is
even our fault how they impact us. Robert Boyle, an Irish scientist
who lived in the fifteenth century once, as a young man, teased a boy
about his hopeless stutter. ' P-p-p-poor b-b-boy can't sp-sp-speak
prop-p-perly!' he would taunt, and this teasing became second nature
until stuttering became his first. It took him years to stop
the habit. He learned a lesson as a boy that he would act on for the
rest of his life. You become what you behold, whether you wish to or
not.
Of
course I do not mean literally. I do not mean that if you beheld a
cat for long enough, that you would become a cat. I do not mean that
you aquire physical characteristics, I mean that you aquire
mannerisms, attitudes and character traits of all you have beheld.
And since you have beheld everyone you have ever known, they will
impact you, however positively or negatively.
Who do you behold? Who are you becoming? Who do you want to be? Who should you behold to help you accomplish that?
2 comments:
Thanks for a wonderful and thought-provoking post Ginny. :)
Guess what? Because I 'behold' YOU often enough, I now say cute things I wouldn't have two years ago! All your little darling words and ways are rubbing off on me! I also hope that some of your other beautiful attributes and characteristics rub off on me too.
xoxoxo
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