Know Your Labels
Labels…we know them all too well, from food to acronyms for a job to record companies to identifying species of plants and animals. They are out there in hot pursuit in hopes to aid in defining our life experience, striving to give it meaning and alluring us to fall prey to the belief that everything must mean something and put in its appropriate place in the world. We learn the game of how to make “structured compartments” and grow accustomed to having our labels given to us from the outside world: Marketing agencies tell us what is best to buy: Food companies tell us what to eat: And even the pharmaceutical companies tell us what illnesses and conditions we have before we notice the slightest symptom…”Do you have dry mouth? Do you go to the bathroom…a lot?” Typically, we only dare to look at labels to the depth of what is considered normal and what is not, in fear of being caught as a player for the “other side.” Yet, what if we dared to look as deep as we could at all labels, questioned them, and had the courage to be “not normal” in the eyes of the world? What if we went as far as to let go of our worldly flare and donned the true light of our own flair?
Since our younger years we have conditioned ourselves to the importance of labels, using them as a means of how to be and act in the world. In our own families there is the smart child, the outgoing child, the quiet child, the rebellious child, the active child, the helpful child, etc. And that is just within the structure of our family of origin, not to mention the other constructs: school, tribes of friends, civic organizations, and jobs. We have absorbed our identities without question and worn them as badges of truth, and sometimes honor if a lot of suffering was required. From childhood to adolescence to adulthood, we have continued to display and collect this given flare instead of shining our true flair. This brings to mind the movie Office Space where character Joanna is continuously told how she is not wearing enough flare on her Chotchkie’s uniform. The movie mocks organizational hierarchy and the importance of playing along with the game of being liked and fitting in; meaning if you do what others tell you and fit into your given label, you will be rewarded, in Joanna’s case, with more flare.
Labels can be sneaky and be words that we do not know or understand, thus encouraging us to take them as truth because in addition to our other labels, we don’t want to be known as the “stupid one.” Take for example food labels, often we just look at the title of the can of soup and if it sounds appealing we put it in our basket and off we go. In particular, if a food item says “low-fat” or “all natural,” we do not question what “low-fat” or “all natural” may mean to that brand. Yet if we looked closer at the label one would find that what may be low in fat is high in sugar and what is all natural may be laced with horrific additives and preservatives. Various items get placed in our foods and it is only until we become an advocate for our own health do we notice the harmful ingredients we have been ingesting. It is always astonishing to see how cane sugar is placed into almost every food item, even something as simple as tomato sauce. Thus, it is a good practice, all around, to begin to question all labels, the ones for our food and the ones others, and we, give ourselves. We must begin to see through the label in order to have a healthy understanding of who and what we are, for the one label that really matters is the one that lies behind them all, peacefully waiting for your recognition to step forward.
Eventually in Office Space, Joanna decides to give up her flare but with boisterous flair. By no means do we need to make big displays in stance of our truth but sometimes it is warranted, as with the case for Joanna. But it is important to remember that “Truth Needs No Publicity” and that we can stand in how we choose to define ourselves without the world even noticing and without its permission. The Truth of who we are is so stealth, yet bold, that if you look very closely at the labels you have acquired, your true identity has already been written within them: The Funny One, The Crazy One, The Helpful One, The Intelligent One, The Absent-minded One, The Focused One, etc. What is within them all? The One.
You are The One. Disregard whatever comes before it. You are the one and only. You are one with nature. You are one with the Universe. And you are the one you have been waiting for all along. Dare to wear the only flare that matters, The One Flare, the Truth and Light that you already are. Start the movement today…Shed The Flare and wear the Flair! Namaste.