Laying down the Labels

How I label things is how I see them.

Lately I've found myself sitting with a simple thought

How I label things is how I see them.

The labels come so quickly that I often don't notice them.

This person is difficult . That situation is unfair. This day is stressful.

Once I've given something a label , my mind begins collecting evidence to prove it true. Before long. I find myself living inside the story I've created rather than the reality that's unfolding.

Ive been reading some of Pema Chödröns reflections and she has challenged me.

She writes about meeting life without immediately judging it - allowing uncertainty, discomfort and even difficult people to "simply be" what they are , without adding another layer of resistance or complexity.

As a Christian, I don't see this as abandoning my faith. In many ways , I hear Jesus.

He continually invited people to lay down judgment, to remove the plank from their own eye before pointing to the speck in another's, to love their enemies, to forgive seventy times seven, and to discover a peace that circumstances could not steal.

Perhaps judgment doesn't hurt the person we're judging- that's hardly a new thought.

Perhaps we are just stealing our own peace.

I've realised that joy, calm and ease are not things I stumble upon when life becomes perfect. They are practices. Daily choices.

I can choose to name someone as "annoying", or I can become curious about the story they are carrying.

I can label a setback as a "disaster", or I can call it part of being human.

I can label today as "too much" or "too hard ", or I can notice that this moment is simply asking for my attention and practice tolerating the feeling of discomfort.

None of this changes the reality .

It changes the lens through which I experience the reality

That doesnt mean pretending everything is good, there is injustice , pain and grief. There is suffering that deserves comfort and nurturing. But much of what comsumes my unhelpful thinking is the narrative I am wrapping around it.

One of my favourite writers is Psychologist and Researcher Brene Brown_-a phrase she encourages her readers to ask is "What is the story I'm telling myself"

Im learning peace begins long before the circumstances beging to change.

It begins in the decision to stop judging every moment, every person and every inconvenience, and start noticing what is happening deep within.

Perhaps the Kingdom of God grows in exactly these ordinary moments- not through having all the answers, but in the still, in the breath, in quiet moment.

Today I am asking myself one simple question:

What label have I given this situation....and what would I see if I laid that label down?