DailyPrompt—2162

When I think about influence, I think first of people —
and nothing shapes me more than my family, especially my children.
Their love, their strength, their laughter, their existence…
they keep me grounded, human, motivated, and alive inside.

But if I look deeper —
not just who, but what influences my life —
the answers stretch far beyond the physical world.
I am influenced deeply by music.
Music has held me through grief, guided me through change,
sparked creativity, and reminded me again and again that my heart still beats.

I am influenced by the stars and planets,
by the feeling that the cosmos has rhythm, timing, meaning,
that we are part of something vast and intelligent.

And I am influenced by the spiritual realm.
I know not everyone will agree with me,
and that’s okay — our paths don’t all need to look the same.
But I don’t believe in one single almighty figure sitting above everything.
I believe we are surrounded by many spiritual beings,
guides, energies, light, ancestors, helpers —
and that divinity isn’t “out there” only…
it is within us, too.
I still respect churches, rituals, tradition.
I go when it matters — holidays, weddings, funerals —
moments where human love meets sacred space.
But I think something shifted in me when I was about fourteen,
watching “Out On A Limb” with Shirley MacLaine —
that idea that God is also within us,
that we, too, carry something divine.
That belief has never left me.
So yes — my biggest influences are
my family, music, the cosmos, spirit,
and the quiet knowing that there is more to existence
than what we can see.
And tonight, on Christmas Eve…
that feels like something beautiful to sit with.

💫Maggie

The Afterlove Voice 💫