My Thoughts About Labels

"MY THOUGHTS ABOUT LABELS”

Labels are useful for others to identify what your contents are.

They are also convenient for you to use to describe what your contents are.

But they are just words.

We are always changing, shifting, morphing.
Any one label is not the full story.

If you’re okay with the flowing river that is you then you will be fine without a label.

But if you go without a label, you will frustrate people.

When you are fine with holding your impermanent “I” loosely, then you drop the labels.

Then you must resist the external pressure to label yourself. But when you are at peace with yourself, then you can let people guess while you remain tranquil.

There's nothing wrong with labels. We can appreciate and respect them. But they're not perfect. I'm often asked, “Are you a Christian?” “Are you an agnostic?” “Are you an atheist?” I answer, “Yes!” But if pressed, I will say I have a healthy believer, agnostic, and atheist within, and I care for all of them. If pressed further, I say, “My home's in Christianity, but I have cottages everywhere!”

I'm no longer concerned with my label or your labels. That's all they are: words stuck to the outside which are not very reliable indicators of the complex humans they attempt to describe.

You are like a river… deep, mysterious, and impermanent.