We often hear it told
That we need to get out of our box.
It usually means the speaker
Perceives us to be unable
To grasp their ideas.
I really don't think
It is possible to escape our box.
It is built by our past,
Our experience,
Our knowlege.
The real question is,
How big is your box?
Is it a closet,
A small house,
Or a gymnasium?
Is there room in your box
For others?
Or is your box
Just barely a fit
For you?
Is there abundance in your box?
Or is it a desert place
Containing nothing
But you
Alone?
Is your box full of love?
Is it a place
Where others are welcome
To spend some time
Exploring?
Or is your box
Filled with anger
And hatred
And bitterness
And fear?
Quit trying to get out of your box.
Make your box bigger.
Fill it and fill it some more.
Our boxes are expandable.
If you begin with love.
However,
If there is no love
It will shrink
Until there is nothing left
But you.
9 comments:
But, Chris, it is an important factor for one to be able to think outside the box.
I like the idea of making the box bigger to encompass all things. And certainly love will assist in that.
Barbara: It is an impossibility to think outside of one's box. To think anything new, requires new experience, new knowlege, new input -- which when received, has the effect of expanding our box. We are still in the box when we incorporate new ideas, it is just a bigger box. In effect, the walls move to encompass what was previously beyond the walls of our box.
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We are expressing the same concept but in a different way. It is much the way people from different political parties often want to accomplish basically the same things but have very different approaches to a solution.
Well, Chris, I disagree that I am unable to think outside my box. To be able to do this, one must be an independent thinker. I have always had the ability to see the other person's point of view, while seeing another point of view at the same time, not necessarily my own.
To stay inside one's own box, however large it grows, is akin to tunnel vision or becoming a sheep. I wouldn't like that, and would deliberately find ways to escape.
Barbara: Methinks you are stuck in your box or you would understand what I'm trying to convey. Perhaps my words are inadequate.
The bigger box includes being able to see another person's point-of-view. That ability is still shaped by our personal experiences, education, etc. But, we can never be that other person. We can only "see" what is generated from within ourselves -- our box. No matter how much we believe we emphathize with another's view, that interpretation of their view is still based from within ourselves and shaped by our own "box."
I think that I have a good understanding of both John Mcain's and Barack Obama's views. They are very different from each other. However, I'm not black nor did I spend part of my youth in a Muslim school -- nor, was I a POW or marry wealth. My "box" is big enough to encompass both views -- except that I don't truly know their views, only my perception of them.
It is possible that parts of yours and my "box" overlap. This would be areas in which we have shared experiences -- such as viewing each other's blogs and gaining a glimpse through that medium of each other's thoughts, views, etc. However, you and I inhabit very different parts of our planet and are exposed to different people. We have different backgrounds, etc. We may have some feeling for each other's "box" -- probably immense imperceptions -- but we can never inhabit the same "box." We are still stuck with all of those things that make us each unique.
When we try to get someone to think "outside their box" what we are really trying to do is to get them to see things differently. They are constrained by their own history. However, in pushing them to think differently -- to see things differently -- we are adding to that history in a manner that hopefully grows that box to encompass something new.
Now, get out of your box and see my point-of-view! :)
I already do, and I'm sorry I teased you. (Its because I'm a Leo and a Tiger in Chinese astrology.)
Whenever the Republicans are in power, Canada's economy remains stable. If the Democrats are in, life is miserable north of the 49th parallel. And now with the major financial institutions folding the economy will be taking a dive. Our stock market dropped 800 points today. Yikes. Thank goodness I don't have stocks, but one of my brothers does.
We have our national elections coming October 14th, and the party I usually vote for has gone into greedy, graspy things.
I remember the stories my mother told me about living during the Great Depression. We may living those experiences soon. All we can do is pray the voters vote for the right party.
Barbara: I appreciated your comments because they gave me opportunity to more fully explain my point!
My boss is one of those people with no room in the box for anyone else but himself. He's welcome to it.
Oh my, where do I fit in...my original comment would've had to do more with the summary aptly stated in the last four lines in your poem. Then the comments...this is where "oh my" comes in...I have rejected box thinking all my life, I explored more the great circles- the gathering of many views, opinions- still this I do adhere to, and yet- I see your point. Thanks, for making me dizzy...delighted. I love it when someone or some thing makes me ever widen my thoughts.
Take care-
"...Give me a shady spot,
with a comfortable seat-
Come and sit beside me friend,
And we'll agree to disagree."
Truewonder: Thanks for stopping by! When you mentioned circles, I immediately knew your gender -- and then I looked at your blogs -- both are wonderful.
If you mapped relationships -- or thought processes -- or nearly anything that goes on in a woman's mind -- it would look like a bowl of spaghetti. If you did the same for a man you would see straight lines and boxes. Neither is bad or good -- just different. That's why, when you mentioned circles, I thought female. But, maybe it's just an addiction to hula hoops!
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