Labels

One evening not long ago, I was preparing to grill for dinner. Typically, my wife will get together whatever needs to be put on the grill and I will cook it up. On this particular night, we were having burgers. She brings out the plate with the burgers all seasoned up and I put them on the grill and go through the process. I bring them in and we sit down and fix our burgers the way we like and enjoy dinner together. At the end of the meal, she asked how I enjoyed my burger and I said “It was great, like usual”! She then informed me that what I had just eaten was a turkey burger. She went on to share that over the past several months, she had been substituting turkey for beef in the spaghetti sauce and in some other dishes as well in an effort to improve the healthiness of my diet. I had not noticed the changes. What I did recognize is that if I had seen the label on the box of burgers before I had put them on the grill, I would have likely had a different reaction. 

Labels can be a good thing. Labels help us to organize content. In libraries, we group books by fiction and nonfiction.  They inform us of the contents inside a container. In food, that is helpful so that we can know that we are utilizing the right ingredients. In chemicals, we can know if the contents are dangerous. When labels are utilized effectively, possibilities become limitless. In regards to food, the mixing of ingredients found on labels leads to casseroles! In chemicals, we live in an area that is based on the use of labels and how the contents can be combined to new discoveries and uses when the contents are combined. The appropriate use of labels can lead to limitless possibilities.  In this case, I found that a label was a bad thing for me. I looked at it and found that I prejudged my affinity for the contents inside. My perception of the label and the assumptions that I had about its contents influenced my judgement. I imposed limits.

On a personal level, I have had some experience with labels, as well. I may have shared this with you before, but in case I haven’t, I am deaf in one ear. A birth defect. It was not discovered until the second grade at the school health screenings. My parents never made a big deal about it. They did not want me to be labeled as hearing impaired and potentially have others to have different expectations of me. I have experienced other labels throughout my life: Boy, Preacher's kid, Athlete, Tall, Smart, Loud, Teacher, Principal, Superintendent. Through my life, each of these labels influenced how others perceived me. Often, based on previous experiences, others perceptions of the label influenced their views because there were a host of other assumptions that accompanied the label. What I find interesting is that at every point of the continuum the label that was given to me at the time never fully captured everything about me. The label imposed limits.

We are in a time where we have to be careful in our use of labels. Mask, No Mask. RCL, F2F. The list and comparisons are endless. These are just a few that dominate much of our thoughts currently.  I am finding that every time that a label is applied, it is a limiting factor and a missed opportunity. I am seeing the misapplication of labels taking place all around the world and individuals applying a host of assumptions with the labels that immediately establish limits to future interactions. 

November is usually considered the “Thankful” season. It would be very easy this season to only see the things that we are not thankful for and apply labels for all the reasons they exist. I challenge each of us this “Thankful” season to use labels for their best design, which is to seek ways that the ingredients can be combined to create meals that will bring people together and to eat Turkey the way it was intended! I will add that one additional label that I will be grateful for this season is that of “TR1BE”. 

Blessings