Boxes

We might not realize it, but we spend most of our lives inside a box. Whether we are working, studying, eating, sleeping, or just living, we find ourselves in a box. I say this literally and figuratively. Let me explain.

If you stop reading for a second and look around you, you will realize that you are inside a box. Yes, that’s right: the room you are in is a big box. That room is one of several box inside a bigger box, your apartment. And the room and the apartment are inside an even bigger box, a building. It’s like a Russian doll. One box inside another inside another. Some boxes are warm and cozy. Others are cold and bleak. Whether they are comfy or not doesn’t change the fact that they’re still boxes.

We spend most of our lives inside a box.

On some days I feel like a caged animal. On those days, I want to break free and roam freely in the wild like our ancient ancestors.

I am happiest when I am outside a box.

I love the warmth of the sun on my skin, the wind brushing against my face, the sound of chirping birds and rustling leaves, the smell of salty air, and the sight of lush greenery, blue sky, and flowing water.

I love breathing real, fresh air.

Spending too much time inside a box can be suffocating. It is like putting a plant inside a shoe box with no water, light, or air. As time passes, the plan shrivels up and dies.

Like plants, we are meant to be in nature.

We cage ourselves inside boxes. Unlike nature, boxes can be made to be very comfortable. They lull us into complacency. They make us sedentary. They make us forget where we came from and where we belong. They tame and domesticate us.

We are truly connected and alive when we are in nature.

We forget that we are children of the forest, the meadow, the valleys, the seas, the rivers, the deserts… the wild. We instinctively know that nature is our true home and yet we choose to cage ourselves inside boxes.

There are boxes we can see and there are boxes we cannot see.

The invisible boxes are more insidious than the visible ones. They are the boxes of the mind. If we are not aware of them, they can imprison us forever. They can keep us mired in beliefs, mindsets, and worldviews that limit us and hold us back.

Just like the visible boxes, the invisible boxes can stifle us.

We must remain vigilant and notice when we are trapped inside one of these boxes. We must live (and think) outside the box. Better yet, we must completely get outside of the box.

We must set ourselves free.