Labelling relationships

Do we relate to people by the labels or titles we assign them? I’m sure many of us do. Wife, mother, sister, brother, father, friend, partner, boss, co-worker, customer…the list is endless. It lends order, structure and definition in a chaotic world, in terms of how we relate, taking into consideration the dos and don’ts of society and also our own preference patterns.

Let’s take a moment to ponder. What is the basis of the relationships we have? Do we limit our experience of the relationship to the nomenclature of the label? We look at the relationship from one angle – from the angle of the label we have assigned. Do we at any point pause to consider that the person we are relating to is an individual whose entity goes much beyond the label assigned? An individual who may be a friend to one, a parent to another, a spouse to another, customer, boss & co-worker to another. He or she is defined not by any one relationship, but an amalgamation of all relationships.  

I wonder what would happen if we were to expand our horizons to beyond the labels we perceive in relations. Would the borders that define the relation then be a linear line or one which blurs into the horizon? The point here is that the borders of the relationship are ones which we draw. Would it limit the relationship or expand it? What will then change – will the limits of the relationship change? I guess they might become dynamic, as we still have the choice to acknowledge and define the boundaries. Would our perception of the person and relationship as a whole change? I should hope so. As there would then be an awareness of whole new dimensions to the individual we are relating to, not just the dimension that we relate to. Now to the bottom line. How does that help us? This increased awareness of the different facets of the individual would then give us flexibility in our own interactions, enriching the relationship by giving cognizance to the dynamics of the multiple factors at play. It would expand our awareness of the universe at large and give a sense of being a part of a whole. In the process it enables us go beyond the labels we define ourselves by, redefine the resources and identity we have.