Social Labels:

I enjoyed hearing Irshad Manji's talk on her book, Don't Label Me. She could be labeled as, "lesbian" "Muslim" "refugee" but, she invites us to go deeper than labeling everybody socially and politically.

On a personal level, I have been hearing this over and over again with how we treat others and ourselves. Labelling yourself can help you connect to who you are, find your people, feel safe. On the other hand, sometimes in growth, our super firm philosophies, opinions, interests, sexualities, evolve and I'm hearing people scared to allow themselves to grow because it doesn't fit the label anymore. I also hear other people demanding to know what one's labels are and then judging based on them. Or, if someone doesn't wear their labels on their sleeve, it must not be true or they aren't -insert label here- enough.

I say let growth in for yourself and others. It's OK if some people can't be categorized and filed neatly into a specific label. It's OK if one's pendulum swings the other way for a while anywhere in life. The goal is to find one's balance and for us to support everybody's journey. Thank you Irshad for sharing your thoughts.

****Irshad Manji, the author of Don't Label Me, and founder of the Moral Courage Project, and professor at Oxford University, responded on Instagram with this comment:

"That photo says it all. People (and our doggies) are not inert products to be packed and labelled. We are fluid, dynamic, ever-evolving beings. We cannot be shoved into pigeon holes without suffocating. What you wrote is brill- all of it. You've captured the essence of "Don't Label Me". Thank you for having the moral courage to let yourself grow!"