There have been so many, and let’s not forget the other half (more or less) of the population… And ‘positive’ is a matter of opinion. During my formative years, it was my dad. He was the one there and in control. So, I had no choice in the matter. His influence was the greatest then … for better or worse.

Why do parents try to mold their offspring into copies of themselves? It seems to me that a parent’s purpose is to prepare a fledgling human for survival in an evolving and dangerous world. Period, not mold them into mini-mes.

It took me half my life (at least) to overcome most of my dad’s (and mom’s) conditioning, not to mention our daily social conditioning and establishment propaganda. Though I must admit, I was rebellious from the beginning… at least as far back as I can remember…; -)

So, again, which have the most ‘positive’ influence on me? To name a few (because there have been many): Lao Tsu, Buddha, Jesus, Epicurus, Plato, Aurelius, Nietzsche, Watts, and … (also my MA instructors – all of them). Yes, there are a few that have been a little more influential than the others, but it’s complicated and would take me too long to untangle. So, I’ll leave it at that.

–LE