I love to use onions in cooking, but they can create teary moments while cutting them. Never-the-less, I still use them and enjoy the quality they add to a recipe. Onions have layers of skin. The outer ones are thicker and peel off easily. The closer one gets to the tender, tasty part of the onion, the thinner they get.
I used to write a newsletter for shut-in’s called A Voice in the Wilderness. I wrote about labels that are placed on people. Kids start at an early age to call one another names like, “cry babies“. Adults will say “she is such a tomboy“, “what a jock“, “she’s so shy”, “what a “want to be” or other labels that might seem innocent.
Even good ones can be bothersome and I’ll expound on this more. We all label and we aren’t aware of it. Why is there such satisfaction on labeling one another. Does it make us feel any better? And when is it appropriate?
You get the idea. Labeling removes an individual’s personality and throws us into a category. It takes the mystery and the uniqueness out of people. We might as well put baseball caps on everyone or those funny rubber noses and black rimmed glasses. Instead we need to start looking at the person and recognizing their traits as unique and particular. I think we do a great disservice to one another by trying to get everyone to conform.
As a teacher, I was taught to recognize how each child learned and direct my energy into teaching them in that manner. I was taught to look for their giftedness. Over the years, reminders come my way. I try to stay open minded and look at the circumstances.
Yesterday while I was at a department store trying on shorts, I hear a small child whining. I was so touched by the mother’s patience. She did a good job at calming him down. I thought at first that he was being a brat. See the label? Brat? I caught myself. I didn’t know the circumstances. Was it just before a nap? Had he just gotten hurt? Either way, I caught myself.
So what triggered this? I heard someone being labeled as “thinned skinned“. It was a put down and label that made me cringe, since it was merely an opinion. If the person had heard it, it might have made them sad indeed and tearful. None of us like to be labeled.
As a counselor I have people come in who have been tagged by their friends or even another counselor. They say they are depressed or OCD or whatever. It makes me sad. In many cases, it just isn’t true. A one time event or set of circumstances doesn’t make you a certain way. It may be a temporary state or even a misconception when investigated.
One of the nicest things we can do for one another is to be kind and give each other the benefit of the doubt.
Peace for your day, Delight in Living.
Please feel free to stop in for your Zucchini Recipe Sheet or Email me at linda@lindagullo.com and I will be glad to email you a copy!