Labels?! I don't need no stinkin' labels!

A topic near and dear to my...throat... is how I despise labels. I guess to be more specific, I despise how people use and abuse labels.

It is because of labels that I spend most of my life on this quest to figure out my self Identity. Being of a mixed race, I was often asked, "What ARE you?" Which, didn't bother me, except when asked in a rather rude way, as though I was some sort of freak or something.

This theme was brought up again when we were required to fill out government questionnaires in school which asked what Race you were. During this time, "Mixed" or "Bi-racial" was not an option so I would sit and stare looking at which ONE of those boxes accurately fit me. I asked my teachers which box and they would just shrug their shoulders and just say, "Pick one," or "Put down your father's race." I recall asking my father and he told me to pick, "White." Which to me, felt as though it was wrong, like it was somehow denying my Korean heritage and I always felt uneasy about that.

Through the years, the option to pick "Mixed" or "check all the boxes that apply"  became allowed, which made me feel more at peace with myself. However, the guilt of having to choose between the two heritages was the primary motivator for me to study abroad in Korea several years ago. Which has turned out to be one of the most rewarding and enriching things I have ever done in my life, thus far, and I doubt I would have gone on this trip had I not been for my adolescent experiences.

Now don't get me wrong, labels are a great way to classify and discuss things in a quick manner, but there are those who will immediately disregard you due to a simple label, who would completely disregarding the individuality of the person or situation due to the label. It is as if they are so caught up in their static ideology, that they can't actually see situations as what they really are, fluid and ever changing. It is THIS abuse of labels that I have issue.

Throughout history great atrocities have occurred due to labeling abuses. Entire groups of people have used the "US vs THEM" labels to call for the genocides or abuses of people. The most obvious being "Nazi vs Jews," but you also have "Tutsi vs Hutu," "VRS vs Bosniak," "Taliban vs ...well, pretty much anyone who disagrees with them," "KKK vs minorities" and on and on and on.

What really got me was the mantra I kept hearing from a certain group, "If you aren't FOR the war, then you're AGAINST the troops." Um...my father was a solider, I wouldn't want him killed or ANY service person killed. Seems to me, that being AGAINST the war is pretty much FOR the troops, but then again, they were just using a Straw Man fallacy.

So that got me wondering why this was besides the obvious, trying to dehumanize a group so it was psychologically "easier" to deal with abusing another living being. In my book group, we read Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" which has explained to me just how powerful the Ego is at driving people to do things they would never normally do, just to preserve their Ego or sense of self.

Amazon.com: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61): Eckhart Tolle: Books ISBN: 0452289963 ISBN-13: 9780452289963

Which got me to realize I was one of those people who firmly believed that I was my thoughts and beliefs. I would viciously attack anyone who questioned my thoughts and beliefs, because as I wrongly believed, that these very things were ME. I refused to change my position on views because to change would to admit that I was wrong and that definitely was not allowed if I wanted to keep my identity as intelligent woman. As I grew older, I became more and more rigid and firm in my viewpoints...until I became enlightened.

A Bunny Trail:

I had been struggling with neck issues shortly after my 24th birthday, I had started seeing a Chiropractor and was beginning to become very discouraged as it started to look like I would ALWAYS be under the care of a Chiropractor. After a dark night of the soul, I began on a journey to find a way to heal myself. Fate lead me to a Reiki Open House in which I was introduced to the Japanese alternative healing art and what would be the beginning of my spiritual path.

I soon met other like-minded spiritual seekers and began reading all sorts of books about alternative medicine. My roommate at the time introduced me to Louise Hay's "You can heal your life".

Amazon.com: You Can Heal Your Life: Louise Hay: Books ISBN: 0937611018 ISBN-13: 9780937611012

Once I read this book, things started to add up for me, and I was able to peel away at the layers of emotional hurts that I had been causing my DIS-EASE. According to Louise Hay, one of the issues dealing with my neck was my stubborn refusal to see other sides of an issue. (Ring a bell?)

 

Basically all of this stuff was just to point out the importance of being flexible and being willing to change and that it really is OK to change your mind. From what I am beginning to understand, only those who are able to change and adapt to the situation are the ones who will survive, those who refuse to change will be destroyed in one way or another. Heck, I've just described Evolution!

Learn from my and other people's mistakes! Don't get caught up in labels or rigid views which prevent you from adapting and growing, because it sure makes you a prime candidate for manipulation and a BIG PAIN IN THE NECK!