Do You Live in a Box?
Do You Live in a Box?
How many times do you say to yourself and others, “that’s how I am”?. Or, how often do you think or say, “that’s how he/she is”? It seems like we want to spend as little time as possible learning about someone or something (or our selves) and then not have to think about it any more. So we try to put everything and everyone one in the mental category of “I already know about him/her/it”. But when we think we know about something, we put it in a box. So we put our selves in a box, put on the lid, and shut it tight. We don’t allow for it or our perception about it to change.
I am watching a child grow up and am amazed at how many times I hear his mother say: “He won’t like that, or he won’t do that because that is how he is.” Well, I know there are things that mothers just “know”, but I also think that we want to know because it gives us a sense of safety. It is in our box of what we can expect and don’t have to think about any more. But, this also puts the other in a box of not encouraging or allowing growth.
The truth is we are all able to grow and change in every moment and if we decide that we don’t live in our box of what we “know” or how we’ve been, then we can be free to act or respond in new and different ways every day. It starts with being willing to step out of our box even when everyone else in our life is expecting us to live in that box so they can feel safe. And this may be the scariest thing that you do for yourself and the world.
