I have a friend who is teaching me about labels. How we are labeled in what we do and who we are. She doesn't like the thought of being labeled in any way. Whether it's how she describes herself or if she's in a relationship or not or how she feels about something. She just wants to be.
I know I've mentioned before that I don't see why people have to be labeled as gay or lesbian. Why can't we just love who we want to love without calling it anything?
Society is really to blame for labels. It wants us to divide into neat little groups. You're a this and I'm a that. We can fill those blanks in with many categories. But all those groups and their labels seem to stand out from one another. Some people start thinking that their group is better than another group. Next thing you know, they want to change that other group (or groups) to be more like them. Why not just accept people and things for who or what they are? Embrace the differences. Embrace the uniqueness. Embrace the being. Seems to me, this is why we've had fighting and wars and persecution and hatred for so long. Because we're labeled. Shouldn't we be learning from the past and from these labels? What is the point of studying history if we can't make changes and move ahead in our collective thinking?
What if we all just were? What if we all did things without feeling like it needed to be done in any certain kind of labeled way? What if we all just went about our days being us? We'd obviously still have to put into practice being good human beings. But, what if we did practice just being that?
I know I've heard this before. Maybe we all have? I know, for one, that I need to hear things a few times before they start making sense and sinking into my being. But, the point is that, it is sinking in now. You can teach an old dog (though this dog isn't even 44) new tricks. We just have to know that this is a better way of life. A better way of being.
I'm going to try harder to make this change in my own life. I want to enjoy life for what it is. I want to enjoy people and relationships for who and what they are in the moment and not worry about the labels. I'm just going to be.
Being boxed in sucks. I hate it when that happens to me. :( sometimes I do find labels helpful in creating change though. Through labels we find community and similarities... I find comfort in that. I like labeling myself gay and queer because it makes me feel less isolated. I like the community that forms around those labels. I also like the idea of reclaiming the words and redefining them and breaking down the stereotypes of those labels... It is a lot of work though. It requires a lot of effort, so some days I just want to "exist" .. Just be.
ReplyDeleteHow about this: Celebrate each persons happiness,and embrace our differences as necessary for life. How bad would it be if we were all put in those little boxes? Never any chance of changing, growing, or...dare I say, thinking outside that box.
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