Judgements, Labels, and Permanent Ink

I really love Black Friday sales. I often look for Christmas presents at that time. I like saving a penny or two as much as I can. This year, thanks to Clark Howard and his deals website, I found a sale item I couldn’t pass up. For just over $55, I purchased a plug-in, electric, snowblower. It was just a good deal to pass up. 

It arrived right on time and was easily put together. When I looked at the finished product, I was a little bit disappointed because it was so small. For some reason, it just looked bigger in the pictures. However, I got it ready and was ready for the first snow.

That first snow came recently--- 3+ inches of very heavy, wet snow. I got out in the early afternoon, plugged in my new toy with the extension cord, and went to work on my larger driveway.  I was completely blown away by how awesome this tiny little snowblower worked. The snow was very heavy and very thick, and this little machine ate right through it.

We tend to put labels on things: items we purchased on Black Friday, people, situations, etc. And, all labels do is inhibit our ability to assess or value the thing, person, or situation based on its true nature.  We matriculate to our own, sometimes incorrect, preconceived notions. Labels sometimes are printed with permanent ink as well, which makes it hard sometimes to erase them and write the proper description.

There’s an old adage about this... don’t judge a book by its cover.

My new little snowblower was a good reminder of this. We should all spend less time pre-judging and more time allowing the true nature of the people, places, things, and situations to come to true light before we write our perceptions on a label with permanent ink.