Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe

I have always pitied the child that was born on a Wednesday simply because of that poem and yet in the modern working world Wednesday is often pronounced “Hump Day” being in the middle of the week and therefore we are halfway through the working week. 
       Labels are debilitating inventions which can cause untold misery for a person.  Remember Marilyn Monroe’s character in “How to Marry a Millionaire”, how she stumbled about because she refused to wear her glasses due to Dorothy Parker’s little quip “men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses”.  Interestingly enough, we put labels on ourselves by making comments such as “I have always been shy” or “I was always a bit of a tomboy”.  It’s not to say that one shouldn’t identify with a nationality or an alma mater, for example, but caution should be taken in using too many definitions about who we are so that we become set in a box.
       In fashion we learn about shapes, pear shape, apple shape, dumpling or triangle, hourglass, rectangle and so on.  Pleasantly plump, straight as a stick, top-heavy.   Seldom do we hear something positive when it comes to face or figure, most especially when it comes out of our own mouth.  We seem to enjoy disparaging ourselves and we do it best by putting labels on ourselves.  Even with our minds at a very young age we know who the “smart kids” are, the “slow” ones, the “special ones”; the nerds, the brains, the dopes and so on. 
       Labels, like the old song “Signs, signs, everywhere the signs” seem to be freely used, unconsciously even, with little awareness of the harm they may cause.  So next time you are thinking about defining yourself, think careful about who you really are and maybe add one more to your list.  Flexible.  I think it’s important to check in with yourself and take some mental measurements of your personality with a view to finding growth, maturity and interest.  It would be sort of sad to find that you are exactly the same at 60 that you were at 21.
       Next time someone asks how you are, try saying something besides “fine”, “good” or “awesome”.  Make them stop in their tracks and wonder “what was that they said” as you fly by them with a smile and a wink!

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