 Why do we feel the need to label everything around us? Does every experience, every person, every emotion...every "thing" need to be categorized and placed in a box?
Granted,
it does help to identify some things in order to get through the day,
but what if by doing so you unfairly or inappropriately "create"
something that isn't so? By "create", I am making reference to
establishing a problem or situation where there wasn't one prior? By
labeling, do you begin to limit your viewpoint or options where you
shouldn't have done so? Does such an action also deny continued
"growth" in the mindset of another individual or circumstance? As a
result, do you begin to suppress imagination and curiosity?
Our minds instinctively filter all information: generalize, distort, delete.
It has to filter in order handle all the sensory data bombarding it. We
naturally draw conclusions based on "known'" associations we have made
or that have been made for us, but these associations do not have to
remain firm unless you choose to see them that way. Like everything
else in life, a little simple tweaking in how you formulate a strategy
towards something can open your options, open other people's options
and open the world.
By their very nature, words draw boundaries:
Once you name or label something, that is how you begin to see it,
which includes people. In your mind's eye, you have made an unconscious
suggestion that can be long-lasting. A little gestalt is planted. When
you name something with words, you
are, in essence, "borrowing" someone else's meaning. Boundaries are
established. Are you not then placing judgments upon it, unfair
judgments that create limitations and restrict growth? Do we then
loose sight of the greater whole and purpose? Does the predetermined
label influence us to see it that way?
"How subtle this thing called "identification" is! When we're just at
that moment of experiencing ourselves as free and connected and spacious
consciousness, we immediately dive down and say, "Oh yes, but I am a woman! Oh yes, but I am
an American! Etc." And we start labeling again. This utter fixation upon
identifying yourself with something - with anything - actually creates a lasting
barrier to living a full life." - Cynthia Bourgeault, Episcopal Priest
Fact: We label all the time.
Marketing
and ad campaigns create stereotypes and steer us towards certain
categories. Certain established ideologies conform us under rigid
belief systems. The medical field is often very quick to diagnose us as
depressed, as ADHD, unable to recover from sickness-injury, unhealthy,
etc. How often are medications prescribed prematurely? In schools,
youth are labeled and sorted. Ethnic populations label each other. As
individuals, we often place labels and restrictions on ourselves which
fuels our egos or diminishes our self-esteem.
Thought: What happens when life changes occur?
Let's
say that your children have just graduated from high school and are
leaving home for college. As a result, your roles as a soccer mom, PTA
member and den leader are no more. Who are you now and what do you do?
Maybe you have just retired from a long career as manager, VP of
Operations or CEO, therefore no longer carry those titles. Do you now
live in a void or are you still able to grow without such titles? Maybe
you are much younger and school is out for the summer. Do you now find
it more challenging to live the role of ""most popular", the class
clown or leader of the your crowd? Now what? How about the fact that
many new demographics have been elected into leadership roles, yet old
ideologies said such developments could never happen? What happens now
that these old beliefs have been proven incorrect?
Important: "People are not their behaviors."
People
are much greater, both in parts and "wholistically" than the surface
issues they present. Accept the person, not the behavior. Whatever you
think you are, you are more than that. We all are!
How quickly do YOU label?
Are you, in some ways, placing judgment? Spend an hour or a day and take
notice on how quickly you might label or judge a person, place,
occurrence or thing. Notice what "associations" you currently hold or
are represented in you. Now, what would happen by not doing so? How can
something NOW be so much more by not labeling? Can you see it
differently? New possibilities? Can you see it begin to grow? Do you see
yourself beginning to grow a little more?
|
