PEELING MY LABELS

Thanks to Joel Osteen for a great broadcast on Sunday March 17th on the topic of getting rid of your labels, you know all those labels that society, our family and workplace place on us.  This message is very deep.  I watched with my niece who is in university and we had a great discussion during and after the broadcast.

The thing is, once you are on a journey for healing and self-realization, a message life this once digested will start a process of accessing "stuff" that needs to be cleansed from the subconscious, and boy of boy, it didnt take long!  Sometimes we think were are over something but there might be fragments or even big chunks that still need to be removed to clear the way for greater peace, more energy, renewed enthusiasm for your life's goals and dreams.  This is what happed to me yesterday, the day after the broadcast. 

Actually the benefit started the same day. After my day's spiritual feast, I went out for my usual Sunday walk, but instead of walking around the neighbourhood and close by trails, I decided to walk to High Park, (Toronto's Central Park) which I wanted to do for three years since I moved to this location.  I have been walking and exploring the city since moving back from the suburbs in 2008.  When I just moved back I rented an apartment on the Bloor subway line at The Old Mill, which is about six subway stops from High Park.  I eventually got fit enough to walk there from my apartment and enjoyed it very much and wanted to do the same from where I am now but never got around to it.

The next day, a friend poped in my office to see me to share an experience she had the Friday before.  As she shared the experience she had, what transpired and how she felt, low and behold, up comes much more anger and disgust about similar situations and individuals.  I thought I was much farther ahead in healing from these labels and stigmas that had enveloped me over many years, like the parasitic plant "love weed" that gets in the hibiscus hedges.  In a strange and twisted way, "all things do work together for good to them that love God", because the total and utter highminded, unthoughtful and demeaning behavour of a Business Owner and one of his sales managers towards a lady who is recovering from a series of devasting life events would actually help me heal from remnants of the pain and anger and the weight of the various labels that were plastered all over me during a period of extreme hardship and struggle in my life is nothing short of a miracle.  The thing is, what this lady went through was enough to put her in a mental hospital and or on permanent disability, and in fact I know of people who have had to deal with less and couldnt overcome and yet with encouragement and a lot of help from collegues, family, friends, and her church community she has made an amazing bounce back from the brink.  You know the saying, never let your good be evil spoken of?  Well, those two had turn a great opportunity to build up this lady's self confidence into an experience to drag her right back down to where she's coming from - but for the grace of God, the fact that she's on a journey of spiritual awakening,  once she recovered from the pain and anger, could see the actual blessing in the situation.  Hear again, what was meant for evil, God has used it for good, to help my friend heal her past, peel off the label of "failure, not good enough, you're not capable of achieving this, you can only be that".  I was able to share Joel's amazingly simple message with her - peel off those labels, stand up with your feet firmly planted on the ground.  Put your shoulders up and your chest out because it doesnt matter what that business owner and his sales manager thinks, it's what you think and believe that truly matters.  Goes to show, that even people whose job it is to help their employees succeed will hinder, put up obstacles, block and discourage you - if you let them!  People in a position of power, because of their own lack of knowledge and limitations are unaware of the damage they cause to others, and sometimes they are just downright dirty.

It was just during the week before this broadcast I was discussing part of my journey with my niece, I told her about the time when my children were young, after their father and I separated and I thought, I cant live off commission, I need a steady income.  I saw an ad in the paper for an executive assistant in the industry I had worked and had the qualifications and the experience for the job so I went to meet with the recruiter.  I sat down for the the interview and the woman looked at me and said "your'e not executive material, but I have another position for you".  I sat through the interview and as I left while walking back to the parking lot I said out loud, you can keep your job lady, I know what I am capable of.  I told my niece, she did me a huge favour, because I stuck to my sales position and because of that I was able to do a lot for my children that women or even couples with nine to five jobs cant do. Then there was this Manager that referred to me as a loser, but you know what, I lived long enough to see this woman lose her VP position during restructuring, and was not even offered a branch manager job, and had to resort to a sales position. Heck,  I've overcome a lot and heck my children both university graduates and are pursuing their life's dreams. 

While driving to the office Monday morning I reflected to myself, yes, I can still be all that I was created to be, I can still accomplish my goals and dreams.  Heck, Michael Lee-Chin is my age, he's a billionaire and has started a new Mutual Fund company and Dealership!  Hillary Clinton was 60 years old when she ran for president of the United States of America!  The only person who can stop me, is me and I'm "getting out of my way"!  I will find every label and peel, pluck and scrub, but consider them gone.

Have a label free day folks!
MissSam