I once read a book about a woman who was a hired "cool hunter," someone who was supposed to know what the "next cool thing" waiting to happen would be.
The main character had an aversion to labels of any kind, any name brand she'd scratch off an appliance or cut the tags from her clothes. I kinda like that. It resonated with me when I read it and I still think about it.
What if our clothing came without labels? What if we received our favorite store catalogues but the names were blanked out? What if all we could see were the pictures, maybe not even the prices because of course those with the expensive tastes would think to purchase "the best" would be to purchase the items that were most expensive, thus inadvertently labeling it "better" what if these labels no longer existed? What if all food was just food in boxes marked with what the contents were? Brand names being a thing of the past?
Now, I know this is taking it to an extreme to where it breaks down into almost a socialistic view, but I am not making a political point. Far from it. I am making a personal point.
We label and ascribe value to everything and everyone we meet. It's instantaneous. We see someone and they are in new crisp clothes, clean and made up and well spoken and they are put in a certain category in our mind as opposed to the someone else who is always in ragged sweats, hair unbrushed or whatever and they are probably put in a completely opposite category. It could be a first impression like in Trading Places, but the switch has already occurred. You never know. You would never be able to tell. What does a "Bad Parent" look like anyway? What does a "Good Child" look like? How do they act? Or maybe it's someone just having a bad day? Going through a rough time? Or how about someone who is finally having an easy time of things after a long struggle? The thing is, you just never know and to label anyone as anything at any point in life is silly of us because we are ever evolving, nothing is static in life.
We all need to remember that just when we've found the next "Cool Thing," *whoosh* Hasn't it already become old news? And just when we think we've got someone pegged, shouldn't we think, "Shame on me! They are working on themselves just like I am, who am I to judge?"
Call me optimistic and idealistic, but I want my children to grow up in a world unlike the This One where every day is a new chance to be the best they can be and not to have them held back by the labels from the day before. I certainly don't want to be held to my standards of yesterday or even today.
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" ~Plato
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." ~Dalai Lama
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