Labels

Lately, I have been dealing with this issue of labeling. My personal reasons for this are more due to relationships, but if you look at anything, you could call everything a type of relationship. A relationship between man and machine, a relationship between parent and child, a relationship between government and citizen, but why do people label these relationships? Is it for their own comfort? Is it for society's? Is it for the relationship itself? I am an advocate for making the best of life, and some labels are not completely awful to use for peace of mind. For my dating relationships, I  find that when I can label the relationship, it is easier for me to know how to treat the relationship itself. If I have a girlfriend or boyfriend, I will use my past relationships as a stepping stone on knowing how to treat the person as such. Of course, this is based on my own interpretation of how a couple should be, that gives me this launching pad. But, this does not limit what the relationship can become. Every person is different, and should be treated as such. So, what label do I put on for my spiritual beliefs. It may not be surprising to use the same type of logic in my relationships and translate that into my spiritual beliefs. But this still doesn't answer the original question, why label? A more clear question would be, why do I label? Yes, I am comforted by the fact that I know what something is, being that I gain confidence through knowledge. But, knowledge of what something is and knowing what to do with the knowledge, are two different things. So, wouldn't I be able to know what to do without knowing what I am doing? Possibly, it would make sense to simply live and learn, as we all do with so many other situations. But, this goes to a deeper level of philosophy that can translate into, work verses school. As a person in this world economy, is it better to go to school, learn about a subject, go out and put effort into the work based on knowledge of the work? Or, is it better to go out and learn from working in the field? The answer, is one each individual should think of for themselves. Either way, we should do what is best for each of us, or at least what makes most sense. So labeling me as a bisexual when it comes to my sexual orientation, doesn't really give me any more power than that of the knowledge of what I am. Putting this label on me also seems to put some type of limit on who I am as a person. Still, people may feel empowered by being able to call someone by some label that is agreed upon by society, but the real power comes when I decide what to do with that information of who I am. This is because labels do not come before they are needed. So, when it comes to my spirituality, I do not have a label for myself for the present, just a label for my past. I know what I have been, just as all who have religiously read this blog. But, what am I now? I can only be spiritually defined, by what my spiritual beliefs are. So, I am not going to give you, the reader, a label to call me. Don't call me anything, instead get to know what I believe. At that point, perhaps you will have a better label for me than I.