Musings on a Box

There is an old saying ... "Think outside the box". Recently, reflecting on my life and its environment (place, people, purpose, etc.), I realized that the saying can be deepened. Here's the extended version ... There are people who think inside the box, people who think outside the box, and people who don't know there is a thinking box. It's that lack of awareness of the box that differentiates between the innovative and the inventive. Examples of the three types might be Ursula van der Leyden, Howard Stern, and Ray Kurzweil.

Now let's get broader ... There are people who live inside the box, people who live outside the box, and people who don't know there is a living box. Examples of the three types might be Jon (from Garfield), Bertie Reid, and Nikki Sixx.

And now let's can get generic with respect to people and their activities, where you replace *s by some aspect of life ... There are people who * inside the box, people who * outside the box, and people who don't know there is a *ing box. For many people an obvious * is "have religious beliefs", thus ... There are people who have religious beliefs inside the box, people who have religious beliefs outside the box, and people who don't know there is a religious belief box. Examples of the three types might be Justin Welby, David Miscavige, and Paul Harrison.

But there's more, where you replace both the #s and the *s ... There are #s who * inside the box, #s who * outside the box, and #s who don't know there is a *ing box. For example, try "political leaders" and "rule" ... There are political leaders who rule inside the box, political leaders who rule outside the box, and political leaders who don't know there is a ruling box. Examples of the three types might be Justin Trudeau, Nelson Mandela, and Pol Pot.

Now I'll get to the point ... I have friends who drink inside the box, friends who drink outside the box, and friends who don't know there is a drinking box. Examples are John, Shawn, and Tatiana. I love them all equally.

I encourage you to recognize your #s and *s, and to what ever extent possible, love and respect them all for what they bring into your life.

Geoff Sutcliffe, December 2022