Labels

There is a term, "The Jail House Lawyer", it means that what you hear from someone who swears they are right might not be accurate.  Especially when that person is telling you something that although they are adamant about it, they are not a professional in that field.  They will tell you how it is, to them, but not necessarily what is true.

Kentucky has a state law that children must get an eye exam before they can register for the next school year.  That is very important because, in those states that don't require it, a child might be labeled a behavior problem when in reality all that is wrong with them is that they can't see well.  "Yeah I've seen that before that child has ADHD", how many children have been labeled that way, when all they really needed was glasses.

People tend to label others and can very well ruin that person's sense of self worth with it.  "She has a speech problem, that means she is not very smart.  So I will listen to her but not respect what she has to say".  "That fellow is from the country so he doesn't understand business so I'll make some money off him on this deal".  Those kind of labels or stereotypes have plagued some of us all our lives.  It's not that people are consciously being evil but it's human nature to want to feel superior, so they look for differences to capitalize on.

Many of us have fought an on going battle, within our selves, to keep positive and believe in ourselves.  Advertising has a field day with that little fact.  I would be a better athlete if I could just buy one of those GPS systems for my wrist, with that and it's heart rate monitor I can be my own coach.  "Fred says he got so fast because he has one and it makes all the difference".  And all those miracle pills and potions for weight loss and magic fat burning abdominal builders, just send in the money and be ready to be amazed.

It's hard to know what's real any more.  Everyone knows someone that is the resident expert on something, or in some cases everything.  What is one to believe?  It has become interesting to me that you can find testimonials for both sides of every issue on the internet.  There is an old saying, 'You should believe only half what you see and even less that your hear.'  That is as true now as it was when it was first said.

How does one deal with this?  To start with, you have to make a decision that you are just as worthy of happiness, as anyone else and nothing about your physical being should reduce that fact. Your own sense of self worth should fuel your desire, to always strive, to be a better person.  You can over come anything that you decide you can.  Your first debt in life, that you must pay, for happiness, is to earn the right to respect your self.  You owe kindness and understanding to your fellow man.  To that person you see when you look in the mirror you owe being a person worthy of their respect.

The choice is yours.  You can be defined by the labels of others or you can be defined by being someone that is above the labels, someone that can say, "This is me and I'm somebody"!

Thanks for reading.

Dave