Being labeled

Don't worry little lambs, all is as it should be.

Have you ever been judged or labeled by someone you don't know and told about it?  Recently I experienced this and was taken aback for a moment, well a month.

I was staying at a friends house and from that moment on everything I did was being judged by all in the househol and myself.  Didn't matter, I was living down to the description and there was nothing I could do...it just kept getting worse.  By the time I left, I was convinced this was me.  And no longer were my actions seen as kind and confident, understanding and compassionate...they were all being scrutinized under the microscopic lens of "passive-aggressiveness."

The secret is to love, no matter what.

This started me to think about how we do this to each other, in families, communities, cities, countries, etc.  How, from the moment we are born until the moment we die, we are being labeled....

Quickly analyze.  Judge.  Push into a box. Label.  Done.  Next!

Why do we do this?  Does it make living with each other easier?  Or does it make it safer?  Are we really helping when we tell each other what we think of them?  I was raised to keep opinions to myself and to not ask questions that are private.  I was raised to not share advice unless it is invited.  I was raised to accept others as they are and to not try to change someone to be more like me, but to try and adapt to the situation...which takes time and effort.  Is that it?  Do we just not have the time nor the effort to be polite any more?  We are exposed to more people in one day than our ancestors were in a month.  Is it easier to just offend those around you so you don't have to deal with them?  A sort of protective behavior?    I don't know.

My friend Andy and me at Halloween.

With every mile I drove back from Monterey to San Diego, I released a little more of that label and by the time I got home, I was back to being myself.  Perhaps a little more self-aware, but still compassionate, patient and kind.  I do wonder, however, if this little query I've just expressed is considered passive-aggressive.  And so this is how censorship starts, isn't it?   Shake it loose, Frenchie!  Shake it loose.




I think Hanes has it right, HERE'S TO BEING LABEL FREE!