Labels

I am not my occupation, it's just what I do to make a living. I am not my education, that's just when I stopped going to school so I could serve my country instead of myself. I am not a religion, the beliefs I have are ones I've developed over time after careful and serious study. I am not a citizen, I didn't choose where I was born or the country I moved to as a baby. I am not a political party, even if I could be, I wouldn't. I am not a race, or a sex, or any other label that I was born with. I am only me. I have my own mind and spirit, and I like to be free. I do not wish to be limited to the constraints of living my life as a label.
However, some people seem to be comfortable with their labels and not only do they live within them, they continually strive to live up to them. To me that's just not much of a life.
But, that's just my opinion. Everyone should be free to make their own choices.

Not that long ago, the world was flat.

It amazes me that a group of people were able to see beyond their own world and envision a possibility that was vastly different from what was accepted to be true. Traveling around the country I'm fortunate to meet so many different people. "Single serving friends", to borrow a line from Fight Club. People of different races, religions, and cultures, all with their own values and morals. One thing that's fairly consistent among all these people I meet, is that they seldom seem to see outside their own 'flat' worlds. Certainly, your own world is important to you, it's where your life is happening. But there are other worlds beyond your own. Other people have other ways of doing things. I guess you could think of it as all of our many different worlds combining to make up the many galaxies that combine to form the entire universe. However big or small our own world is, we should never forget that it is only one small part of the universe.
And while it's possible that your world may indeed be flat, mine happens to be round.

The Beginning

In my version of a perfect world, everyone would act with compassion, moderation, and humility. I wish we could live in a world without prejudice, in a world were people respect each other. I wish we could live in a world without greed and selfishness. And I wish we could live without fear, which brings hate and violence. And I really wish we could live in a world without ignorance. This all reminds me of John Lennon's song, Imagine. I imagine all the time. I just wish the rest of the world would too.