I was thinking recently about how knowing different people has influenced my character, how a little bit of all the different people we know rubs off on us. Not that we become clones of each other, but each of us is a little bit more rounded than we we would have been left by ourselves.
The most simple example of this would be how people pick up catch phrases from each other. If I over hear someone saying "thank you lots" I recognise that as something I would say.
When I was at my Grandma's funeral I found that my cousins wanted to great us with a hug rather than a handshake. Generally my personal space is about 3 miles wide, so I would have found that very difficult except that Patrick and Heather have been part of our congregation for about 3 years and they great everyone with a hug all the time. I have learned from them to be a more huggy person.
When I went up to Scotland to visit my sister I wanted to take the kids out to a zoo or similar, but they wanted to go to a theme park. That's not something I would normally do, and my default mode would be to duck out and let everyone else enjoy themselves while I watch from the sidelines. This time I felt free to go for it and join in. The kids found it quite funny that Aunty Jo screamed all the way down on the water slide. So, what has helped me to break out and express myself more? I think a big part of it is our cell group where we have done things like adventure courses and walking through abandoned railway tunnels. In trying to keep up with the teenagers and not let them down by being boring I have found confidence to have a go. Having Hannah in the group has helped me to be less reserved and to worry less about "being responsible"
There are probably more examples of how other people's behaviour has influenced or inspired me. I also hope there are things which have rubbed off from me to them.
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