Handle With Care

It seems everything starts in a box. When you buy an I-pod or a stove, it arrives neatly packaged in a container. The reason, I believe, is two fold. One is simple protection. When products start out they go through plenty of moving, shipping and handling. A new piece of technology needs all the protection it can get in those early days to insure it arrives unharmed to it’s destination. At some point, all the packaging and handling material must be removed so the product can be useful. 

The other reason for packaging is simple marketing. I loved the cool, clear box my “I-Pod Shuffle” came in. It made it look as though it were worth the 50 bucks I paid for it. I could see it, couldn’t touch it, but I knew I needed it. The package made me want to buy it but it also kept me from knowing what was really inside that tiny bit of technology. I had to buy it to open it and to eventually use it.

Humans are the same way. We come all neatly packaged in our mother’s womb with all the fluids and cushion so we can arrive at our destination unharmed and ready for action. But in the human, the packaging is not only physical it’s spiritual. Yep, there’s a spiritual Styrofoam that surrounds our lives that doesn’t go away when we shoot out the birth canal. Our spiritual packaging is something we must be involved in removing. It’s a choice each of us has to make. Removing the tape, cutting through the packaging material is something we must do carefully and purposefully. If we cut too deeply we might damage something inside. If we don’t make a clean cut through the strapping tape we’ll have to tear something. Packaging not only protects us, like the “I-Pod”, the packaging I came with, and some I developed over the years, makes me look good. I use that packaging to let people see only what I want them to see and nothing more. They can’t really get that close because the packaging lets them see only what they need to see and nothing more. Packaging keeps people from getting to close.

So, what’s my point? The box we came in has a shelf life and if we don’t rid ourselves of it, we will never become who we are supposed to be. Our physical and spiritual lives must be lived outside the box. We find our potential when we stop out of the box.

So, get the box cutter ready. Read the directions to make sure the box you came in is turned right side up before you start cutting. Don’t cut too deeply at first, vital parts may be close to the surface. Oh, and read the manufacturers directions before removing or using what’s inside. He made it and therefore only He knows how it should be used. And remember, although each “I-Pod” looks the same through the packaging, they are very different and so are you. So, handle with care.

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