Who are the biggest influences in your life?

It's hard to pinpoint any one great influence in my life. I mean, it could have been a random stranger who smiled at me on the bus on one of my worst days. It could be any small interaction that I've had with someone, that ended up changing the course of my entire life. 

I do know, an empathetic smile on a really bad day, can mean so much. The person not glaring at me when my child was having a meltdown in the store. The person who smiled empathetically, as if to offer silent encouragement and support during a moment when we were placed in the spotlight. Their non-judgement of us meant everything to me. 

I guess my family, overall has had the most influence in my life. But no. I can't really say that. I look at life philosophically and I am a determinist. I believe any encounter can alter the course of our lives without us even being aware it has happened. 

Looking at this question differently though, yes, I would have to say it was my family who had the most influence over my life. But only in the sense that their involvement has played the most pivotal role in shaping my personality, either in good or bad ways. This is both families, I've had two. We all usually have at least two families. The family I grew up around and then the family that entered into my life as an adult, are my two families. Those two families are also one family combined. But the separation is there too. For example, I don't bring my siblings home with me after a visit, do I? We are two separate units now. Or actually more than two.

It's hard to say though. I keep thinking about "random" encounters and how they can change the course of our lives. I remember this indigenous man visiting my mom once. He was an older guy, very wisened. Very slow-moving, very peaceful. He had a collection of rocks and was showing them to me. I was so drawn to this man and his rocks. I felt such a peaceful feeling in his presence. This was not such a familiar feeling for me. 

When he was leaving he let me choose one of his rocks to keep. That encounter has stayed with me my entire life. Of all the people who have passed through my life, never to be remembered,  I remember this specific man. Maybe it was with him that my obsession with rocks first began. Who is to say? Or maybe it was the person who bumped into me walking down the street, who I'll never remember, or care about. Maybe it was that person that impacted my life the most. 

I don't believe any of us can say with exact certainty who it is who has influenced our lives the most. Not if we are looking at the question philosophically or even scientifically. My personality has probably been shaped a great deal during my childhood. Which is likely the same for most of us. We are the most fragile as children, therefore we can be shaped and influenced in all sorts of ways. The influence can be negative or it can be positive. But either way, the kind of person I am, was probably molded during my childhood.

It still doesn’t make the people surrounding me then, the most influential in my life. Not really. Something could happen in the future that is so impactful it completely changes everything about my life. One person could theoretically change every single aspect of my existence. No. I won't be able to answer this question, not without creating a ton more questions in my mind. I am going to stop while I'm ahead and go play some mahjong. I hope everyone has the best possible day they can. Thank you for reading my disjointed ramblings.