Why not venture out to sea? We've titled them "SEA"gulls...certainly they should go out to sea, right? I'm guessing no one personally asked a seagull about itself prior to tagging it with the label "seagull". If they had, they may have discovered that these birds don't in fact like to venture very far over the sea. Perhaps the Labeler could have more correctly titled them "Coastgulls" or "Beachgulls" or "Wherever-the-food-is-gulls." Regardless of their name, however, these birds don't change their behavior to fit the label. They stick with who they are- not who someone says they should be. :-) Get where this is going?
Have you ever been labeled with a description that you knew in your heart wasn't really you? Have you ever grown out of a label that at one time may have fit but now doesn't...but others continue to refer to your old "name?" It's hard to prove you are or you're not what people say...and I could probably write about that a bit, but I think there's a bigger lesson we can take from the seagulls.
Seagulls don't let the label change who they are. They probably could care less about the name we've chosen for them...they know who they are and don't dwell on how that makes other people feel, or worry about living up to the expectations of others...they just keep flying near the coast and looking for food. Doesn't that sound simple? Be you...regardless of what others think you should be...and you'll survive. If the seagulls actually went out to sea as their label says they should, they likely wouldn't survive long...similar to the idea that you can only last so long without being your true self. So tonight I going to think a bit about who I know I am...not the labels I've been trying to prove right or wrong.
Isn't life easier when your worry is on finding food and protecting your family...rather than being something you're not?!
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