I may be living in northern Europe, yet in this sense I am not referring to the white star laden, blue behemoths of Mærsk! :)
Continuing from our starting point last night, inspiration is being served by *Orbiting the Giant Hairball*. It surely plugs thoughts into the brain!
There was a time where human made containers did not exist and we operated on instinct, sense of daring and curiosity. Of course our will to survive was a guiding instinct to a degree, yet to live we dared. Until a container came about, more than likely as a part of the evolutionary process, aiding the genius of natural selection—the example in the book was made of how humans at one point discovered that with a container, they can take more water with them, therefore minimizing the danger of being bent over a watering hole drinking, backs turned to what was lurking from behind. And to think a Pandora’s box was born out of the need to survive!
Fast forward to society today—relationships are intricate, life is tricky and the world is all a maze. Many have become
…shipping containers: boxing ourselves in, afraid to share and grow, yet somehow moving along in life
very akin to the very things that are on large sea vessels. We are getting along, somehow. Yet remain the same. Someone or something else packs us, moves us, unloads us—it could be the fast pace of life, our inability to dare to be different or the *not knowing* how to break free from the container in which we are bound.
Containers are all around us. Job descriptions, roles, expectations, office cubicles, routines. They are the very things that allow us to become complacent and afraid to truly live. Think about it. When you were a child, did you ever stop dead in your tracks while pursuing things out of curiosity? There really were no boxes, well, at least for some. And as we grow older, we are more confined and afraid to take a risk… damn those boxes!
On the flip—are containers more suited as a protective device? Are there more things that demand our being level headed as we get older, therefore staying in the routine keeps us there? Or are we just kidding ourselves after all?
Containers certainly can be good at certain times—we do need to set boundaries every now and then to regroup. Yet take a look around and notice—creative genius seems to tank the older we get. Going for the love of your life and doing what it takes to sustain it is not as common. Sharing your authentic self with others is a rarity. To hell with the containers, I say. Jump off that ship, take the dive into the waters, and as we have conversed before, make informed decisions along the way. Life is short, it is waiting for you to live it. And, the process itself is enriching and contributes to becoming a beautiful being.
question: where is your box?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Good to have you back!
Don't we all have our boxes? I mean, as kids we have none, everything is just as we we want it but little by little we're told the rules and regulations that come with finding our place in the world.
It isn't easy to tell others what we feel are binding us. But what if it is just that? Is a box a box if it doesn't feel like one? Garfields pet shop pals were obviously in cages, but in other cases it could be in Garfields mind only.
Sometimes I think that yes, people could say I'm in a box. But I don't feel boxed-in. Actually even less in a box than when I didn't have all the obligations I have now.
But it doesn't mean it is not great to have someone show you some open doors. You might not need them. But then again, you might :o)
what a great point-- that sometimes we may perceive that another is in a box, when they were not in the first place! you drew attention to something that similar to something that i have called *ethnic imperialism*. let me explain.
it is cultural in scope (this is the best example thta i can think of that illustrates that what we may think is a box when actually there is not one, and when we go to *free* people, it actaully causes harm).
as a part of IKEA's corporate social responsibility, they were making sure that suppliers were included in the IKEA values and CSR. in china, IKEa stated that the work week should be no more than 60 hours, where the cultural norm was 84. even though they paid the workers the same pay that they would ordinarily receive for 84 hours, culturally it was not accepted. it actually caused problems, for it changed family dynamics and the sense of pride associated with the longer work weeks.
so even though IKEA saw an issue, it was with the western eyes and culturally bound mores as to what is acceptable, opposite of what is culturally embedded in china.
(*did that example make any sense?!)
Post a Comment