Have we had the dubious honor of learning how others think of us? “You’re such a princess!” someone might have offered. Or “You intimidate the snot out of the staff” a supervisor might report. Or from across the gym a friendly voice may say “Hey, neighbor!” Or on the soccer field sidelines early in the season “Aren’t you so-and-so’s dad?” And of course, because we spend so much of our lives in a job or vocation or career, “Aren’t you the loan officer at the bank on the corner of Fifth and Main?”
And so, we’re tagged. Identified. Labeled. It happens. Like the luggage we roll through the airport, we bear indicators of who we are, wear signs of what our life is about, share the marks of what life has made of us and what we have made of our lives. To the extent that we are known at all by others of our kind in the world, we are known by labels.
We probably walk around with an array of internal labels as well. All that stuff we think about ourselves. “I’m a klutz.” “I’ve been nothing but a disappointment to my family from the day I was born!” The labels we apply to ourselves are often negative in tone and deflating in impact. Occasionally we might grace ourselves with a modestly measured compliment. “I’m a pretty good cook!” “I play the piano passably.” “Oh, well, I’m just a layperson.” The nature of the label is likely linked to the experiences that have shaped us, the comments of others we have taken to heart, the way family members and others have related to us over the course of our lives. Unseen by the public, revealed to only those closest to us, the labels are nevertheless there.
It can be helpful to recognize the labels others claim for themselves and to understand the labels we choose for ourselves. There are points of connection that may be discovered. Haven’t we been asked by someone what our sign is, as in the zodiac sign under which we were born? [Those were the days!] Some of us have been stung by the declaration of a local: “You’re not from around here, are you?” What an opportunity to share about where our life’s journey has taken us! And we all have rich and marvelous stories to share about the unique journey that is our life! Beyond the statistical data and below the labels beats the heart of a one-of-a-kind never-to-be-duplicated human being. A universe to marvel over in awe and to discover with delight. If such exploration begins with identifying the labels, so be it, because we’ve all got them!
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