Episode_2__Labels-rec01-take2podcast2024@gmail.com

The speaker discusses the concept of labeling and how it can affect both ourselves and others. They share a personal story about painting a skeleton in a box and later realizing that it symbolized their perception of their mother. They emphasize the importance of allowing people to change and not boxing them into the past. They encourage listeners to engage in activities like painting and movement to gain insight and move past limiting labels. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I was even thinking about like your birth order and being labeled as, I was the middle child, middle children, you know how we are, with that label. Oh, my word. So I packed that label around, still have it, and now I don't mind it so much. But back then as a kid, it's like, oh, I'm just, yeah. Sometimes labels can make you become that thing, I think, you know, get labeled as, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, we also do it to other people, and that's the trickier thing. I think it's being aware of when we're doing it. I labeled somebody important to me in most of my life. A long, long time ago, I was in a painting class, and there was a skeleton in a glass box, full-sized, and somehow I painted that as a part of my painting. It was, in fact, it was the central figure in my painting. But I took some liberty with it and had its hands pushing out against the glass of this big box. So the glass is on four sides, so you could really see the skeleton. You could see the skeleton leaning in towards the box and really trying to get out. And I painted that, and I didn't think much about it, about why that came to me, why that mattered to me. But as painters, as people who create things, whatever we create, there's something in it that's us, and we might not even realize it. And in that case, I had realized it until years later when I realized I had put my mom in a box, and I had seen her in a certain way, and I wasn't letting her out. And yeah, when that hit me emotionally, that was a pretty hard thing. And really, it was only about three years ago, now that she's in her 90s, that I finally let her out of the box. Can you believe that? That's tough. And just seeing her in a new way, and I think that's something we have to attend to in ourselves. Like, when are we boxing people in, and what is it doing to them? And what are we losing as a result? Anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's hurtful. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, it's hurtful. Yeah. And also, I think it's a really hard thing for us, is to allow the change in people. So we box them in, but they're not in that same box anymore, and we keep them there. I think parents do that with children. We keep our own children. We perceive them as they were and think of them still as that little kid, but they're not that little kid anymore. You know? They've moved on, and, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I really love that. I love that image of you pushing on the box yourself, trying to get yourself out of the box. Okay. I want to say more about that, because that's really cool. Yeah. Well, you said it the other day, yeah, about how you can rewrite it at any time. You don't have to stick with your story. You don't have to stick with your label. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What if you don't? What if you just stay there? Like your whole life you keep that same label. No, no, no. But if you don't, you're going to miss out on something. You're going to miss out on thriving. Again, you're going to miss out on thriving in your life. Yes, you do. Yeah. Yeah. And the really great things that happen when you step out of that label. I mean, you find a sweet spot in a relationship, because there's, I mean, like me with my mom. It's a completely different relationship once I made the change for myself. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Woo-hoo. No. It's Robert's phone. Sorry. Squirrel brain. Anyway, so let's encourage our listeners. What would we encourage them to do if they find themselves doing the same thing that we've done? I don't know. I was thinking about ways that help me to move past something like that. Obviously, painting, because that's when things emerge and you realize, whoa, what am I doing here? But movement. I think getting out and moving, dancing around to your favorite song or, you know, doodling something. Doodles are good because you get a lot of insight. What comes off of your pencil? I had to talk her into journaling. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Little vomit scraps everywhere. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.