LUI: Life Under Influence

Total strangers can play a role in our lives without even knowing it.

There are always those who rule the society or are in the government or are somehow leading some part of the world, which has something to do with us. Who can deny the influence that let’s say Saddam had on our lives? Part of me still shakes inside and panics only by hearing any kind of alarm because it reminds me of bombardments alarms. Fire works still are not as joyful as they are for most of the people, only because of the reminding sound of explosions that I had experienced. He had his specific influence on my life, without even knowing it.

Then there are those who somehow inspire us, no matter if they are still alive or not. Lance Armstrong or Marie Curie (or anybody who inspires one at one stage in one’s life) are in this category for me. They change your perception of life, shape it, or make a new one for you. Strangely enough, there could be even fictional characters in this category sometimes. I have one of these, a fictional character, my favorite one from one of my favorite writers. He shaped my character without even existing in this world, which sometimes surprises even me, myself.

And then, there are total strangers, who don’t seem to be very important in one’s life, but they are. Simply because they are so strongly connected to a special part of one’s life that coming across their name, suddenly awakes thousands of good and bad memories related to that stage of life. I noticed this, when I came across the name of a theatrical Iranian actor in a magazine, in a short simple condolence message for him. His name, took me to almost 10-12 years ago, in an instant. To the time that I used to watch any plays and movies and teletheaters that I could. To the time that I used to read like crazy (not that I don’t read these days, but it never is the same, getting up at 4:30 am, just to read until 6 am before getting ready to go out). To the time I started to know myself…

Is it possible that each of us play a role in somebody’s life, even if we never realize it?