A person is truly defined by the people that they associate with. This sounds like a very obvious statement. And, in fact, it is. But, how many people actually think about this when they are associating with whoever they are associating with?
 
Like I've always said, “Life is defined by availability.” What's available to you is, what you can choose from. It's what defines your life. It's really as simple as that. And, this certainly goes to the fact of the people you associate with.
 
I've known many people that have had their lives turned upside down, and in some cases all but destroyed, by choosing to associate with a certain person. I've seen this with women who fall in love with men, and the man destroys their life. I've also seen this in the case of a few men, who choose to associate with a specific woman, and that woman just tears their life apart.
 
In some cases, these things are small, and in other cases they're much larger. But, it is that other person, the way they behave, the things that they do, the way they live their life, that truly comes to be a defining factor in the life of that other person.
 
Think about your own life. Think about the people that you've chosen to associate with. I imagine that each of us can point to instances when we've chosen to associate with a person who brought negative events into our life. I would think it's also the case that we've chosen to associated with people that have brought positive events into our life. I suppose that we wish that all the people we associate with would be that positive influence, bringing positive events into our life. But, unfortunately, that's just not the reality of reality.
 
I think many of us have been warned about associating with certain people. I know I have. People knew something about an individual that I didn't know, and they suggested that I didn't hang out with them. I've probably even presented that warning to a few people, as well. Suggesting that they could make a different choice. But, we all follow the path that we follow, and often times we just don't listen to the wisdom of others. That's just life reality.
 
In some cases, you may be the person who brings negative events into a person's life. Has that ever been the case? Have you ever done negative things, created negative situations in another person's life? If you have, what have you done to rectify the hurt that you have caused? For most, they just live in all kinds of forms that denial, and they never look to the true reality of their karma. They do nothing to fix what they have broken, and many do not even feel any guilt about what they’ve created. Again, that's just life. It's wrong! But, that is just life.
 
So, this is the question of each of our realities, who have we associated with, and what have they brought to our life? If we've chosen to associate with them, then isn't it our fault? And, I think that's probably the reality that most people don't want to look at when someone brings something negative into their life. They chose the association. They chose to associate with that person. Yet, when negativity happens, all they want to do is to shift the blame and blame the person who brought that negativity. But, in most cases, it is you who could have made another choice. It is you who could have chosen to walk away from that relationship. But, you didn't. So, ultimately, who is to blame?
 
As we pass through our life, we're going to meet all kinds of people. Some we want to associate with, others we do not. Some we do associate with, others we do not. But, the reality of this reality is, at the end of our days, much of our life is going to be defined by who we chose to associate with: what they brought to our life, what they took from our life, and what they left us with after the association was over.
 
As in all cases, most of life is defined by the choices you have made. This is true, whether you want to admit it or not. And, in connection with all of this interpersonal stuff, who you choose to associate with comes to define much of the reality of your life. If you've messed your life up by who you choose to associate with, really, who can you blame but yourself?