Quantity of republishing

content/post/2018/06/is-self-reflection-enough/index.markdown

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+title = "Is self reflection enough?"
+date = "2018-06-13"
+categories = ["life", "me"]
+[[resources]]
+  name = "header thumbnail"
+  src = "**X6EM9sYgei-wM70Z3IoGxw*"
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+I’ve been doing a lot (a whole lot!) of self reflection lately. It’s probably *reflected* — Hah! (Sorry[^1]) — in my writings.
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+I’m trying to figure out *who I am*. And [*what I* ***do***](https://medium.com/@WhereAngelsFearToTread/obviously-im-biased-but-80778a2de71e). Big questions. But ones I want answers to.
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+Not least because of the series of relationship explosions I’ve undergone recently. In particular I’m trying to identify and neutralise toxic behaviours I either already had or developed in those relationships.
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+I’m pretty sure I’m badly codependent. Which needs to change. I also have a major tendency to jump ahead of myself when I should be rolling with the punches.[^2] But I don’t know exactly how. Which loops quite neatly to the title.
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+I’ve been looking inward. Balancing it with looking outward. Trying to let a *little* more positivity bleed into the darkness.[^3]
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+Trying really damn hard to be more mindful, more grateful.
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+All of that is good. But is it enough? Can I do this — whatever *this* is — alone?
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+I don’t know. Which is another thing I’m working at being better at — admitting when I’m wrong or don’t know. Which is a lot of the time when *this* is involved.
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+I guess I’m just trying to be a better person. Something I should be able to manage alone. In theory. I don’t know.
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+[^1]: I’m not.
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+[^2]: I don’t mean that inherently negatively as it implies. *Going with the flow *just isn’t violent enough for me. On second thoughts maybe I *do*.
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+[^3]: Sometimes.
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+  

content/post/2018/06/on-labels/index.markdown

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+title = "On labels"
+description = "Another double edged philosophy"
+date = "2018-10-25"
+categories = ["life", "me"]
+[[resources]]
+  name = "header thumbnail"
+  src = "**4hLg_xEJR-4deFWCq-U8dg*"
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+Labels are great. They help organise things, like files. They underpin organisation and sorting systems. Categorisation.
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+Labels get tricky when applied to things that defy categorisation. People.
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+On the one hand, labeling people is super handy. Provided that the label is accurate — and the only way to guarantee that is if it is self applied. For example I label myself a ‘gearhead’ because it’s a convenient way to convey an area of my interests.
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+Labels help like minded people find each other. Help communities form. They are used to convey, in some small way, who we are. A bio with a bunch of labels tells much more - after all a label is just a certain kind of symbol.
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+Labels help. But only when they are not used to reinforce the oh so pervasive ‘Us vs Them’ mentality.
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+You can’t sort people by labels, even those they’ve proudly stuck on themselves.
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+Recognising that people are different and categorising them are worlds apart. Because one depends on seeing the person first, and the other the labels first.
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+I see people, not tags.
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+As far as luck goes I’ve got a pretty good lot. And I’m trying to be mindful enough to be grateful for it.
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+But gratitude won’t do. I am trying to become an Ally to those less fortunate. I’m still working on being better at it — but that’s Life , I suppose.
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+On a separate but related note as it were, I have a new label for myself.
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+I am hetroflexible. Maybe even bi. [Ed. note 2021: Pan, these days! 🏳️‍🌈] The truth is I’m not quite sure.
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+‘Confused’ feels like the most valid label, but I’m concerned that it would be interpreted as ‘making light’ of a serious issue. For want of a better word. Anyway!
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+Am I leveraging that declaration to make a point? Yes, a little bit. Is it justified? I think so.
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+Because my point is thus:
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+Us. Never *Them*. Remember the person.
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+With one exception. Which I suppose is the real double bladed part of the philosophy. Almost hypocritical. But you should be used to that by now.
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+Anyway. The exception. Those that wield labels like weapons. See themselves as better than anyone else. To them I say…
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+**Fuck Off**
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