I’m a Christian. That doesn’t mean I watch Leave It to Beaver marathons or go around saying things like “good golly” all the time, although I did use that phrase the other day. It does mean that I try to be aware of who I allow to influence me and where I spend my time. I’m learning that what I focus on matters if I want to stay on the right path. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn said it best:
You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with.
A few years ago, I was laying in bed in a hotel room in Omaha, Nebraska. I was on a business trip and trying to get some shuteye before a day full of meetings. So I turned off the light and tried to catch some sleep. Then I remembered that I forgot to brush my teeth. So I got up and that’s when it happened. I broke my toe on the nightstand. Good golly was it painful. It hurt so bad. It was awful.
Later that night, after I laid down again, I could slowly start to see the outline of the nightstand. It was faint at first, but then it became more and more apparent until finally, it was very easy to see.
I thought about all of the walking I’d have to do the next day. How did I not see the nightstand?
I missed it because my eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness. It takes time to adjust. The amount of time that it takes is different for everybody, but eventually, we will all adjust to the dark.
What we don’t often realize is that other things in our lives can become a form of darkness as well and if we’re not careful, our eyes will adjust to them, too. It will be slow. We may not notice it at first. But we will adjust. It could be people who aren’t the best influence on us or TV shows that aren’t very uplifting (not Leave It to Beaver). It could even be “busyness” and always needing to have something to do rather than just enjoying the day with the people you love as if it may be your last.
We need to pay attention to what we surround ourselves with. They affect us more than we realize.