Surroundings...

There is always discussions and studies about how our environments effects us.  I agree that what surrounds us effects us...but do we even know it effects us? Should we allow it to effect us?

I have been thinking about this a lot recently, as I have come back from Brazil and the environment I lived in there to the environment were I live now in England, and how they both effected me.  I don't think I have really thought about this idea of how my environment effects me, until I was removed from my environment and then going back to my previous environment...and have actually had a lot of time to stop and process and think....

So one question I have been thinking about is...what is considered my environment. Well to me it is everything that I am involved in, everything that effects me directly and indirectly, the physical location where I live, it is the people that I come in contact with....our environment is massive.  So if I think about it, we all have quite a few environment changes in our lives...changing schools, starting new activities (so meeting new people), for me moving physical locations, Australia and then Brazil, going to university, jobs, living with different people....all of this would effect you.

Well....I guess I am realising just what type of environment I would like to live in, be surrounded by. Real moment of being open now...my home is not the environment I want to be in, I am seeing recently how it is effecting me and I don't like it. It is quite an angry and stressed environment...it doesn't feel peaceful, happy or a really loving environment, I am the only christian which makes it quite lonely too. I feel that the anger is rubbing off on me, and that I am not encouraged in my faith, it is just a generally negative environment and I don't want to be like that.

So with all of this in my mind I need to work out how to respond....I need to work out how not to get caught up in my environment, but then not completely isolate myself from it either. How can I still be me and grow in Christ in my surroundings!?  How do I protect myself from my environment and not get caught up in it? Am I able to change my environment in any way to make it a more positive place?

It is actually really hard...but something really important to think about....if I think more I then think about how I effect other people, as I am part of peoples environments....how do or how should I contribute to my home environment as this is essentially where I spend most my time....

I think it is really quite amazing actually how much impact we can have on people, and how often we can be unaware of it, and how unaware of how are surroundings effect us, or can apply pressure on us to fit the mould or change to be more accepted. How do we really know if we are being ourselves?

So much to think about, so many challenges to this topic I think....I will stop now in my thoughts, as I think I could write all day....but for me the challenge is to stay myself, to stay in Christ, and not get caught in behaviours, thoughts, feelings, actions etc...that are not me and that do not bring glory to Christ, to not be influenced by my surrounding environment...