We have a need to organize, sort and make sense of the universe. We compulsively define things. It’s why we gravitate towards rule systems like religion and science. It’s why we place so much value in our belief systems, articulating and staunchly defending them. It’s what helps us make sense of the world. It’s why we play games, matching trios of like colored gems and candy and it’s why we fight wars.
Life is becoming increasingly complex and the more complicated a system becomes the more rules are needed to govern it. We define, stratify and segregate each other, and ourselves, based on limited definitions because its just too hard to see the larger picture. He’s a banker. She’s a doctor. I’m an artist. He’s a teacher. That person is white, black, asian or latin. We become so used to these shallow descriptions that we forget that we’re all deeper than what we look like or what we do for a living.
You may not make your living as a doctor but you can be a healer. You may not make your living as a scientist but you can struggle to understand the world. You may not make your living as a therapist but you can listen. You make not your living as an artist but you can make art. You can do all of those things, and more, every single day.
Don’t accept a one-dimensional description for yourself and look for the depth in the people around you.