Labels

About the time we opened our eyes as a species we started labeling things............we didn't do this to be mean, we did it so that we could give “that thing” a name. Sometimes the name caught on and other times somebody else figured out a better name. Names served two purposes, 1 – to give “that thing” a name; and 2 – so that we could tell others about it. Face it folks conversation is much better when you can say:

“I followed the path to the river and I caught two fish”

Rather than

“I did that thing along that whatchamacallit and I did that other thing and got what ever those things are”. (English teachers out there, please don't barbecue me for this sentence, it serves to prove a point”)

Yes, names/labels really do improve our communication skills!

And about the second or third time our species blinked we knew that we needed to be part of a group, your odds of survival are always better this way. Just ask anyone who has watched a horror movie, you go off alone and you are the next victim for sure!

So that we could tell others what group we were part of..........we gave our groups labels. We started with our genders, then the family group, then expanded it to our village name, then our country. We gave our selves names such as John or Sara. When John fathered a child we called him John's son, this got a little complicated when John's son had a son..........after all John's son's son is a mouth full! So we decided maybe we needed two names. We had already noticed some people liked to raise plants so we had grouped them as farmers while those that liked to sew we called tailors. This came in handy so John became John Tailor. We formed other groups and labeled them as clubs, then we knew each club was special so we called them special names.

As time went on this started getting a little complicated because one person could have a LOT of labels attached to them! Somewhere along the line we came up with the not-so-brilliant idea that we could say a “label” and it would be derogatory. And I am guessing that about that time somebody met a farmer or a tailor that was mean or uneducated and they decided it was okay to say that ALL farmers were mean or uneducated. Kind of like that note you may have got in the third grade that said “the whole class hates you”..........when in actual fact it was just Susie who wrote the note because you beat her in the class spelling bee.

Somewhere, some how we decided it was okay to JUDGE a label and declare all who carry that label as BAD or EVIL.........on the flip side we also decided we could JUDGE a label and declare all who carry that label GOOD or FANTASTIC.

And nothing could be further from the truth...........Not every Indian is BAD (don't go PC on me I am just pulling up an old stereotype), Not ever Politician is EVIL................Not every Doctor is GOOD and not every bite of Chocolate is FANTASTIC! (and believe me I LOVE chocolate.......just not all chocolate taste the same)

I have a LOT of labels, part of it is genetic and part of it is experience (let's face it I am old). If you want to get specific on my Labels – here you go:

I am a blonde (okay now it is natural platinum highlights), female, white, daughter, mother, American, German, Irish, a smidge of Cherokee, married, divorced, employee, business owner, writer, oilfield worker, trap shooter, gun owner, Girl Scout, Emergency Medical Technician, Volunteer Fire fighter, rappeller, butcher, sales clerk, waitress, Lion, Alpha Gamma Rho Little Sister, quilter, painter, Baptist, Republican, dancer, middle class, welfare recipient (yep I have had tough times), uninsured, insured, bike rider, motorcycle rider, barrel racer, bull rider, gardener, crafter, housekeeper, teacher, researcher,.........whew my brain is tired from think of ALL the labels I have or have had so I am stopping here. My point is that you cold assign MANY labels to the being that is me............

Let's talk about water for a moment. At it's base (and in a small amount) water is clear in appearance, it is actually teeming with lots of minerals and algae and part of what you see is the reflection of light coming off all of this things that you can't see. The bigger the sample of water you have – a cup full, a pond, a river, a lake, or an ocean..............dictates what color the water appears to be. Add in the soil under the water and the type of light that you see it in...........well you get the picture, you can see a LOT of differences!

We humans are just like water, how you see us depends on WHAT part of us you see – where we are at – where we came from – the light you see us in.....it all is “us” but every view can be different.

We should NOT judge others by a label, we all have more than one. And we should NOT judge a label and think it is okay to judge all that carry that label as the same...........we are ALL different!

A human being is made up of a lot of minerals, iron, cells, etc............and WATER – in fact 98% water. So if I follow the FDA standards and can claim my “being” as the LARGEST ingredient........then I am WATER!

Yep, that is what I am – I am WATER! Now go ahead and tell me that ALL water is Bad or Evil! .................a word of warning.............IF all water is bad, then that includes you too..........and I think you are OKAY!