lookers, seekers, and cravers

everything is neutral until you label it.
an old saying that has been phrased in many ways and is quite thought provoking. william shakespeare’s version: there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

not to start a debate about whether there are things in the world that can be agreed to be objectively good or bad. nor am i jumping on a toxic positivity pep talk train. but more an exercise in the power of our labeling.

i think to be human is to be constantly labeling.
and we’re constantly labeling as we are constantly seeking.
always seeking because ultimately we’re always craving.

from the beginning, something in our wiring. we’re cravers. so we’re seekers, lookers, and labelers. and, I’d say, good lookers - look for the bad, you’ll find it. look for the good, you’ll find it. because after all, it was neutral until we labeled it.

thinking not only about our labeling, but our subsequent positioning according to the labeling. the naming changes our posture.

looking. seeking. craving.
there is something innate about naming, seeking, possessing.
adam and eve level wiring.
apple = good.
particular apple when not supposed to have said apple = bad.
so the good and the bad comes in the comparison and relation to the ultimate craving. the thing is not good or bad in itself but positionally good or bad.

postured above, replacement to, or distraction from the Object of my innermost craving = bad.

postured below, pointing to, an instrument to glorify the Object of my innermost craving = good.

so it’s an idolatry inventory.
what’s my posture towards this thing?
is it in its proper position? do i possess it or does it possess me?
does it pull and point me upwards? or push and drag me downwards?

then properly label the thing.
name it.
position it properly.

what’s your focus? the object of your seeking?

something to possess? or the shaping in the process?

achieving vs becoming.
neutral until labeled.
check the fruit to find the tree.