The Fictional Company you Keep

I recently read an article that talked about the people we're around. Of course the friends you hang out with are very important. The wrong people can bring you down, or even start to destroy you. Sometimes when I'm around people with a certain trait, it brings that trait out in me (for better or worse).

 Here's the quote from Paramhansa Yogananda:

“The company you keep is important. If you leave your coat in a room where people are smoking, pretty soon it will smell of smoke. If you leave it outside in the garden, later on, when you bring it indoors, it will carry with it the fragrance of fresh air and flowers. Such is the case with the mind. Your garment of thoughts absorbs the vibrations of those with whom you mix. If you mingle with pessimists, in time you will become a pessimist. And if you mingle with cheerful, happy people, you yourself will develop a cheerful, happy nature.”

The article continued on, expanding the concept to include fictional characters:

"We generally think of friends as the people we choose to be around. But we also spend time with the characters in our books and films. The next time you read or watch something, ask yourself, “Is this character smoke or perfume?” You might want to show the smoky ones to the door."

I too have felt fictional characters have an impact on me. That's one reason I hated almost everything we read in high school - most of the characters were awful people. But I've written about that before.

Guira cuckoo (keeping good company)