Tags
Attachment, Attention, Go Naked, happiness, Heart, Identity, Label, Labels, Lack, Mask, Patterns, Purpose, Rachel Naomi Remen, Soul, Us versus Them
A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. “Right,” “wrong,” “success,” “failure,” “lucky,” “unlucky,” may be as limiting a way of seeing things as “diabetic,” “epileptic,” “manic-depressive,” or even “invalid.” Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are. This expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented. We are in relationship with our expectations and not with life itself.”
~ Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal
True ignorance is ignoring a person for who they truly are and buying into your perception of them based on labels. Might you be fooled by this mask? Maybe you see a reminder of some familiar yet appalling aspect; you label it based upon something from your own past, a costume, their appearance, sound, accent, the way they speak ~ the way they look, smell, the group they associate with, etc… How did we become such a lazy assuming society consumed with placing everything and everyone in a neatly constructed box to define them? We live in “Us versus Them” times where nobody really defines who Us is, nor Them! We’re overrun with acronyms, labels, groups, organizations, political parties, religious organizations, sports teams, sexual preferences, race, color, rules, laws, … everything that divides us from one another keeping us from actually communicating as individuals and connecting as human beings. It separates us, polarizes us, creates drama and conflict ~ internal and external!
Do you like to be judged? I know I don’t and I realize I do it ~ we all do it. How do you define yourself? Better yet, how would you like to be defined?
Why would anyone want to subscribe to being labeled? It usually equates to a false sense of connection to peers. Though this is the quickest answer, it often does not lead to fulfilled happiness? It leaves us feeling a sense of loss of who we are because we’ve locked ourselves into a box of predefined qualities or conditions; we are not allowed to shine independently of these Labels!
Let your thoughts, words, actions define you. Not a label, not a mask… Want to be recognized for YOU?
Go Naked!
Remove the mask and all the attachments to identities you’ve collected along the way trying to fit in. It doesn’t suit you nor does it serve.
Simply Just BE YOU!
Wars are started over forcing one’s will on another. Why give someone the ammo, fuel, or fire to propel or maintain their need to overpower and control another. It doesn’t matter if you support them or are against them. Labeling does both when you buy into it!
We should embrace who we are without the need to fit someone else’s comfort level to define how they should treat us. If we were taught to confidently go out into the world BEing who we are, nothing would be lost.
I don’t want someone to treat me like a label. I want to be treated as the unique and loving individual I am, as I will treat everyone the same.
If someone walks up to me and declares they are “X-Label”, this implies they are looking for conflict, acceptance, or some sort of reaction to this because they themselves aren’t even certain of themselves and question it. They seek a response to assert them and their actions.
Have you been putting on labels just so others can feel comfortable around you and gain their approval, at your own expense? What has it cost you?
What kind of attention are you looking for by shouting from rooftops who you are, based upon labels? Of course, it draws attention to you ~ just not necessarily the kind you would like. Chances are if you feel so inclined to draw this sort of attention to yourself, you have not connected with the true you. Are you acting out in ways to find approval from outside of yourself, or maybe just to seek a reaction creating a conflict? Either way, attention you seek, attention you shall find! Choose wisely how you seek attention.
You’ve been trying too hard to identify with people, places, and things versus seeing you are perfect, just as you are!
You only suffer when you don’t go within because of all the time you’ve gone without!
Look within and ask your Heart for guidance.
When was the last time you expressed who you are through your actions? I’m talking about doing what you enjoy versus doing what you feel others will approve of? Do you know who you are without putting a label on You?
If you want to be respected by people around you, don’t go around declaring you are something. Walk your talk with reverence for what you believe in your heart, as you are guided by Soul and Purpose.
Only the EGO wants recognition for belonging to some label or special group; it declares “I am this….give me attention, respect, put me on this pedestal…”
You won’t see truly humanitarians, spiritual, or humble people running around shouting a declaration like this from the rooftops.
Want to change the world? Do so by setting the example in your actions. Talk is cheap! Anyone who identifies with a group has created a division from themselves and the potential to connect or affect anyone else.
Let’s not be hypocrites by claiming one group is better than the other because this is why the world is in such a divided state ~ It’s called separation, duality, polarity, Us Against Them ~ None of these look for solutions but instead feed the machine that serves none of us. Remember,
Together We Stand, Divided We Fall!
~ Aesop
Forgiveness starts with self, as do all virtues like patience, compassion, love, honesty, humility, etc…
Erase any lines that divide you and me. Find creative ways to connect with one another by expressing yourself doing what you love. Live your life with passion, never sacrificing your heart and soul. Look for people who uplift you, love and support you for who you are, label-free. Nurture your own True Nature and watch how those around you gradually do the same for themselves. Be a pioneer in Life!
Why not? What have you got to loose?
~*♥*~ Go Naked & Expose the Real YOU! You may find you’ll be appreciated more for courageously demonstrating your inner Self versus a mask you may have donned hiding your Self all this time. BE a Brave New YOU! ~*♥*~
~ ♥ Lana A. LaBonte ♥ ~
