Couverture de Episode 254: “When Labels Replace Seeing”

Episode 254: “When Labels Replace Seeing”

Episode 254: “When Labels Replace Seeing”

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 Welcome back to Infinite Threads. I’m your host, Bob.Let’s talk about the moment we stop seeing.Not because our eyes are closed—but because our minds are already made up.It happens in a split second.You hear a word… see a hat… read a post… catch a tone…and your brain files that person into a drawer.Liberal. Conservative.Woke. Closed-minded.Religious. Atheist.Toxic. Abuser. Victim. Liar. Hero.Narcissist. Ally. Lost cause.The drawers are endless.We do it to strangers online.We do it to coworkers.We do it to family.We do it to ourselves.And maybe most dangerously—we do it so fast,we don’t even know we’re doing it.There’s a reason our brains do this.Labels help us sort.They give us shortcuts.They let us make decisions quickly—who to trust, who to avoid, who to listen to.That part’s natural.It’s survival.It’s how we process a world that’s too big, too complex, too fast.But what starts as a tool…can become a trap.Because labels don’t just sort.They shrink.Once someone is labeled,you stop being curious.You stop asking questions.You stop noticing nuance.You stop listening.And suddenly, you’re no longer in a relationship with a human being.You’re reacting to a concept.A caricature.A keyword.A phantom version of them that only exists inside your mind.And this isn’t just about “them.”It’s about what this reaction does to you.It makes your world smaller.Your empathy thinner.Your heart more guarded.Here’s a hard truth:The moment we stop seeing the person,harm becomes easier.Not just dramatic harm.Not just screaming or hate or violence.I’m talking about the soft, everyday harm of withdrawal.The way we tune out when someone talks.The way we assume bad intent.The way we refuse to believe they could grow.We don’t mean to hurt anyone.But when we reduce someone to a label,we close the door on the possibility of change—and that is one of the deepest wounds we can inflict.Because everyone is more than their worst moment.Everyone is more than one opinion, one post, one story.But labels freeze them in time.They make the moment permanent.And they rob people of the right to evolve.That includes you.How many times have you been labeled by others—and felt unseen, misunderstood, flattened?How many times have you been the labeler?There’s no shame in the answer.We all do it.But now is the time to see it—so we can stop doing it so reflexively.Let me offer you something different.Seeing someone doesn’t mean agreeing with them.It doesn’t mean justifying their choices or tolerating harm.It means acknowledging their humanity.It means knowing there’s a thread in them that’s been shaped by experiences you don’t have.It means realizing that no one came out of the womb trying to be cruel, broken, or hateful.Something happened.And something else could still happen—if we stop feeding the divisions that keep them stuck.Seeing doesn’t require ideology.It doesn’t require belief.It doesn’t require a script.It just requires presence.It asks you to look without flinching.To stay open a second longer than usual.To ask yourself: “What don’t I know yet?”Because there’s always something you don’t know yet.Always.So what do we do?Start small. Start real.Today—just once—when your mind goes to a label… pause.Pause and ask:“What might this person be carrying?”“What might they be afraid of?”“What are they trying to protect?”“What story did I just tell myself about them?”And then… try seeing without the story.You don’t have to like them.You don’t have to agree.But you do have to remember:This is a human being.That’s enough.And that seeing, that pause,is one of the most radical things you can do.Because in a world that keeps shouting “us vs. them,”choosing to see instead of sortis an act of love.And love—not judgment—is how real change begins.🧵 Closing ThreadSo let’s not be afraid to step outside our drawers.To loosen the labels—on others and ourselves.Because the deeper truth is this:No label will ever be big enough to hold a soul.You are not your mistakes.You are not your party.You are not your trauma.You are not your job.You are not your worst day.And neither is anyone else.So let us move through this day as if that were true.Let us soften our gaze.Let us stay curious.Let us choose to see.Because love doesn’t require belief.It only requires sight.And today, that sight begins with you.Thanks for being here. I’ll see you tomorrow for Episode 255. Until then—keep choosing love, one thread at a time.Infinite Threads is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Infinite Threads at bobs618464.substack.com/subscribe
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