Have you ever taken the time to ponder boxes and what they mean and accomplish? Let’s see, there are big boxes, little boxes, square ones, and rectangle ones. I have even seen tube shaped boxes. What I want to talk to you about today however, is open and closed boxes. Have you ever heard the analogy of people and their boxes? The idea is to compare people, how they live their lives and what motivates them to make the decisions they do, to boxes and how they are aligned in any given situation.
Think on this: I am in my box (big, little, square, etc.) pondering why my life is so chaotic. I look up and realize the box lid is closed over me. It would seem I am running around inside my box, seeing only what I bring into my own view, I communicate only with myself [and the committee in my head]. I get no outside inspiration or edification from anyone else in my life. The opposite can be true to: I am in my box doing my thing, life is good [in my perception], the lid is open, the sun is shining and I’m plugging along in my life. But, I’m still in my own little world. Me, myself, and I. I can’t see out of the top of the box, so I have no idea of what lies next to me, around me, or far away from me.
Life can be like that right? Stuck in a proverbial box. So, what if I stood up? What would I see? The first answer is, I don’t know. The second is like it, I won’t know until I stand up and look outside the box. Let’s try for a minute and see what we get. Stand with me, will you? Oh look! There is a homeless man over there holding a sign! Oh, oh! Over there is a family playing in the park! Well, look at that. Right next to me in the very next box, an elderly couple struggling to mow the grass. On my other side I see a child crying because he misses is daddy, while his mom tries her best to keep the household upright.
Folks, there are people all around us. There is life all around us. Stand up! What’s around you? What’s outside your box? How can it be of help to you? How can you participate in it, and make a positive difference in your corner of the world today?
Are you suffering? Sad? Stuck in a difficult place in life? Stand up. Open the box lid [now that you’ve seen it is close above you]. Don’t allow the darkness to keep you in a sitting position. Stand up! Open the lid. Let in the light. There are people just like you right outside your box. Life is not that mysterious. We are far more alike that we are different. That I guarantee you!
If you are in a good place in life, celebrate it! Enjoy it now because struggle is right around the corner. Life is not static, we are constantly growing and changing. If you are in a difficult place in life, don’t fret, stand up! Get up on your feet! Embrace the challenge and walk into the fear. The challenge will only last a little while [which is a matter of perception], because the good life is right around the corner. Again,life is not static, we are constantly growing and changing. Remember, you’ve got to Go through it to Grow through it. C’mon now, let’s stand up together.
Going and Growing 