Labels are mental shorthand for dealing with the complexity of communication that comes our way every day. Sadly, this shorthand leads to short term thoughts and actions and these can cause hardship that elicit unforeseen reactions in the offended parties.
"Think before you act" seems to be set aside when it comes to these handy labels we paste over each other. There are real people behind those labels living real lives.
Peeling off the labels doesn't guarantee you will find yourself in the presence of a thinking soul before you, sometimes it reveals a frightened individual who sees you and the rest of the world through a patchwork of labels they are not prepared to abandon. This impasse leaves you no option but to deal kindly with the reality before you and hope that your actions will bring them to reevaluate the labels they use to the point where they can see the reality before them, and by extension the whole world, as a kinder gentler place.
Thinking leaders of all creeds and ideologies have been spreading messages of kindness and brotherhood since time immemorial; promoting peace to all who will listen through religious or political channels. Often the labels are manipulated by media or leaders to arrive at their own objectives.
I am collecting these ideas to guide me in an attempt to peel back some labels, if only in my own mind.
- Catholicism: Pope Urges Mideast Peace
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9) source: peace of jesus - Islam: In The Footsteps of the Prophet- Hamza Yusuf
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad by Tariq Ramadan
Opinion on the book: by Robert_Gleave.pdf - Buddhism: Buddhist Ideas for Attaining World Peace
The Jade Buddha For Universal - and on... and on...
Can a world without labels prevent war?
I am often reminded of crash investigations where the cockpit voice recorders show how a captain's overbearing attitude prevents team members from mentioning important facts in time.
It's not so much the labels as the absence of easy communication that prevents the evolution of useful solutions to problems. Listening, exchanging, empathising.
Since we all use the shorthand of labels, and even "peeling them off" doesn't ensure you will identify the consequences of your actions, I find it is helpful to maintain extra easy communication where "offended parties" can immediately present their perspective on your actions allowing me to quickly take corrective, more comprehensive action.
From my perspective, as a teacher this can involve listening, a lot; as a team leader this can mean reaching goals using a less efficient (e.g.: "not my idea") but overall more satisfying path.
Steve
Along this line of thinking, this proverb has proven it's worth over and over: "You can achieve anything you want, if you don't mind who gets the credit." Source: achieve
Sometimes, in life as in chess: "you must loose a battle, to win the war" Phyrric victory in 279 AD "Lose the Battle to Win the War"
