Travel Musings: Why Do Tags and Labels Exist?

When you travel, you meet a lot of people, experience lots of new things, and are exposed to many different cultures. Having these experiences often raise a lot of questions. One of them is related to the way we apply tags to people and things and feelings. Labels are confusing to many and rightly so.

We weren’t born with tags.
We weren’t born to follow.
We weren’t born to fit into the societal frame of life.
We weren’t born to be perfect.
We weren’t born in cages with handcuffs.
We were born free.
So take a deep breath and say, ‘I’m alive and free.’

Every species on this planet is worthy of respect and love. Labels are simply used to justify our inability to respect and love one another. It is our way of blocking out the fact that they have a life too, nothing more and nothing less. 

The world is in such a mess because we love things and use people. People were created to be loved and things were created to be used – this is something that is being forgotten. 

We are wild creatures, but we were never meant to be tamed. We are not meant to fit into the categories the society has divided us into. We were never meant to be like everyone else. We can never be someone else. We can be similar, never exact. The world is shrinking into this homogenous system, humans are being converted into robots. We are as different as the sun and the sea. 

We constantly feel disconnected from the world around us. The first time we experience separation is when we are torn from our mother’s womb. It is the beginning of our realization to the fact that we are different from others. It’s the beginning of consciousness as we realize our separation from the rest of the world. The only thing that actually keeps the world from going into absolute madness is love: from friends, family or a special someone. Love is when the other person makes a little sense of the chaos inside you. When someone is okay with the way you are. Acceptance and empathy. 

Trust into your existence. Believe in the purpose of your life. Be ambitious. Be passionate. Don’t ignore your feelings, no matter how unjust or ungrateful they seem. Feel.

When you try to fit, you may disappear. Don’t try to fit in. Stand out!  

Travel the world – if not the world then your own country. Visit different corners, places that are very different from where you live, places that showcase a different culture than yours. Only when you have experienced differences first hand will you be able to truly feel liberated and see beyond tags and labels. Traveling is enriching in so many ways, which is why I feel it should be on everyone’s to-do list. Set out to explore every chance you get. You never know what life has in store for you.