David Teachout

America’s most powerful social product may very well be that of the politicized identity. Pick a label, shove the entirety of a person into it, then use this narrow caricature to condemn, belittle, dismiss, celebrate and worship, depending on whether you like or don’t like said label.

Just how much of yourself do you need to change to belong to a community? What are you giving over when signing on that dotted line, whether it’s an actual sheet of paper, verbal declaration or taking on the community’s label? There is much talk about tribalism and the seemingly inherent problems it creates, pitting one group against another in some form of quest for supremacy.

Grief, as much as it often inspires thoughts of separation, is our mind’s way of recognizing over and over how close we truly all are. Loss is as much a part of life as growth, each movement a step away from one space into and towards another. There is no gender, economic status or race that is exempt. The form loss takes and the way each of us works through the consequences will differ, though never in such a way that it cannot be felt by someone else.

Emotions are the jam in the scones of our life. Slathered in-between the bread of thought and circumstance, our emotions are the sticky deliciousness that holds everything together. Granted, they may not be held together all that well and you may very well get a tad messy during the eating or living, but at no point do emotions disappear or become anything less than the powerful bond that keeps us moving in life.

Anyone who has stepped into a meeting with a doctor can attest to a degree of heightened anxiety and wariness. What tests need to be run? What are the results? How will my family and friends react? What does this mean for my life? It’s that last question which eventually seeps into the conscious eye and becomes dominant.