Ideologically Impaired

Labels just may be among the worse things ever created.  They are overused and misused at every turn.  I can hardly focus on what is in front of me because I spend so much time rolling my eyes at all of the silly ideologies that we hide behind.

Seriously.  

As we force ourselves to live within the confines of man-made ideologies we voluntarily constrain ourselves within someone else’s idea of who we are.  We’re not just selling ourselves short, we’re limiting our own potential for greatness so that we can fit into some arbitrary definition designed by someone we’ll never meet.  

Are we so desperate for acceptance that we will live by someone else’s idea of right and wrong, or agree to false dichotomies that are so demeaning?  Is it so much easier to face the world as a fearful group of exclusionaries than to express who we really are, regardless of what society demands?

Sadly, I fear that it is.

So many labels including political, religious or non-theist, can lead to a vicious Us vs. Them mentality that only serves to divide people, creating meaningless conflicts where none should exist.  In order to blend in we are required to attack and belittle because if anyone sees the depth of our doubt or senses our insecurities, then the game is up.

Why do we constrain ourselves?  Why must we put limits on how we express the many facets of our humanity?

You can ask me what I believe, but my philosophies exist outside of a neatly packaged ideology.  I won’t accept some easily digestible, sound-bite of a belief that is readily marketable.  Mainstream is far too narrow to encompass my experiences and thoughts on faith.

If you ask me what I do, I can respond with the appropriate label, but it will not offer much in terms of information.  What I do is a complicated mess of inspiration and motivation, sprinkled with a large dose of wisdom, showered with the ongoing acquisition of knowledge and tied together with passion.

The important questions are not the what’s, but the why’s and the how’s.  Why do I believe and how does this make me a better Me?  Why do I endeavor in this work and how does it help me to support our community?

None of these questions offer pithy responses, so I will refrain from trying to explain them.  Instead, I would prefer a conversation that lasts a lifetime so that we can try to understand each other.  I would like to know who you are, how you are, and why you are.  I would prefer to walk with you and learn with you rather than see you through an ideological facade that fails to truly highlights your uniqueness.

You are far more important and far more wonderful than any label can express.  You don't need to accept the constraints offered to you by someone else's philosophies, or give up your own identity in order to fit the way others see you.

If you’d like to shake off the restraints of popular labels, give me a call.  We can figure out who we are over a cup of coffee.  Then we can meet again tomorrow and discuss who we are becoming.