Beware of Being Assimilated by Your Environment

Xuefeng

The influence of the environment on a person is extremely powerful. If you’re not vigilant, it can destroy your ideals and future.

Cultural, living, geographical, and climatic environments all subtly influence a person's physical, psychological, spiritual, and soulful well-being.

When a person moves from a familiar environment into an unfamiliar one, they often experience discomfort. However, after a period of time, they gradually adapt to the new environment. This means that the new environment has assimilated their physiology, psychology, spirit, and soul.

In The Shawshank Redemption, there’s a character who, after spending more than twenty years in prison, had become so accustomed to and fond of the prison environment that he was unable to adjust to life outside. Eventually, he committed suicide because he couldn't adapt to the world beyond the prison walls.

There was also a woman who was kidnapped by a man and confined to a basement where she was subjected to long-term sexual abuse. Over time, she adapted to the abuse and even began to develop affection for her captor, eventually defending him in court.

Just as with the broader environment, we must also be cautious of smaller environments. Nowadays, people talk about "circles," and each circle forms its own small environment. Spending time with certain people can alter your values and worldview. Even within a WeChat group, if you remain in the same circle for too long, you can become assimilated by the collective consciousness of that group. We often find that the vast majority of people believe they are absolutely correct, but to those outside their circle, they are clearly in the wrong, though they remain completely unaware of this—it's quite tragic.

If you spend time with business people, your mind will be filled with thoughts of profit. If you associate with philosophers, you’ll be consumed by speculation. If you are with politicians, your thoughts will revolve around controlling others. If you are among thieves, your mind will be focused on theft techniques. Whomever you associate with, you will become a reflection of those around you.

People who have been deeply influenced by religion often have rigid thinking patterns, making it difficult for them to accept new ideas or break free from the confines of religious doctrines. Those in society who have long been accustomed to being slaves completely lose the consciousness of being masters—it's both regrettable and sad.

Having a rigid consciousness without realizing it is not only a condition of the masses but also of recognized great men and elites. Throughout thousands of years of human history, there are few who have not been influenced and constrained by their environment.

The best way to ensure that our consciousness is not influenced or dominated by the environment is to frequently change our living environment, cultural environment, geographical, and climatic environment. By stepping outside our usual circles and observing from an external perspective, everything becomes clear—the successes and failures, right and wrong, are as evident as if viewed from the moon. Looking at the world from a global perspective, whether observing China, the United States, or Russia, it becomes difficult for the environment to control our consciousness.

Understanding the impact of the environment on people is crucial for those with grand ideals and ultimate goals. Regardless of the environment one lives in, as long as the light of idealism in your heart remains bright and your consciousness is fixed on the goal, you will not be influenced or dominated by your environment. This is the meaning of "adapting to circumstances" in the value of the Four Adaptations in Lifechanyuan. Whether in the desert ，forest or on a farm, whether at the equator or the poles, whether in the countryside or the city, as long as your heart is bright and your goal is clear, every place is a field where your ideals can be realized.

The key issue is that the environment's transformation and assimilation of people is subtle and nearly imperceptible, making it difficult to detect. Even those with strong convictions can be unknowingly led by the nose by their environment. Unless you stay in the same environment for only three years and then immediately change it—not only changing the geographical and climatic environment but also changing your living environment and even the people you regularly interact with—it is as difficult as climbing the sky.

This is one of Thirty-Six Eight-Diagram Arrays.

August 13, 2024