More on Living Outside Boxes

In this blog I plan to ruminate on what it means to actually, "live outside boxes." While having many aspects, a major factor is that you have claimed responsibility for yourself, and what you have become. It, also, is understanding that one's life is a do-it-yourself job thenceforth.

To claim responsibility for oneself means to stop blaming anyone or anything for what you have become up to this point-in-time. This idea is very hard for most people to understand, let alone accomplish. What about the fact that you had no control over what happened to you as a child? What about the fact that you may have come into the world with, "disabilities"? What about the fact that you have been injured in some way that was out of your control? What about the fact that you may not have inherited the best physical vehicle with which to work? These are only a few of the objections that can honestly be raised against having to take responsibility for what you are at this moment in time.

Clearly, there are many who, for the above reasons, will probably not be able to manage living outside society's boxes. No judgment of those people, or on those others who do not choose to change themselves and their lives, on my part is intended.

Claiming responsibility for oneself is an, "act of power." There are few things in life that are as powerful psychologically as stopping blaming anyone or anything for what you have become. One way of doing this is by incorporating the idea of reincarnation, and its corollary Karma, into one's personal philosophy. There are as many variations of the belief in reincarnation as there are as to what "Karma" means, however, it is not necessary to get hung-up on specific details in order to adopt them as part of a personal philosophy.

Reincarnation is, essentially, a belief that says we do not live only one life, as Western religions maintain, but that we humans live many lifetimes.

"Karma" can be defined as a Law of balancing what, in the West, are called "negative" and "positive" acts. Essentially, the role of Karma in life can be summed up in the saying, "What goes around, comes around," and the Biblical, "In life you reap what you sow."

This philosophy is, in general, the idea that life is basically about learning, and we learn by experiencing and doing, over many lifetimes. In other words, whatever we have been and done in other lives we will experience something like the opposite in some other life. Therefore, if one can accept this idea as a part of one's personal philosophy, you can stop blaming and giving credit to others for what has happened in the past, by saying to yourself, "In one way or another I created in the past what I have experienced in the present, so everything is even."

In any case, whether you accept those ideas or not, to claim responsibility for what you have become at this point in time works as a simple, "act of power," consigning blaming and gratitude to the past. However, to do so, one needs to continually be conscious of one's speech and thoughts in order to block any relapses in this regard.

I have written before about the idea that life is a do-it-yourself job. Generally, those who live lives outside of boxes, whether they think about it in those terms or not, live unorthodox lives to one degree or another. Such individuals frequently gain positions of power which enable them to dictate to, or influence others. They may also become explorers, travelers, "Citizens of the World," or choose to live semi-reclusive lives in order to live them in their own way without interference. Such people frequently come to public attention at the end of their lives for some reason or another.

Unless such individuals have deliberately explored what they believe and why they believe it, or are self-educated, they are as likely to subscribe to the Programmed and Indoctrinated beliefs as others. I am reminded of a delightful senior I met early in my life, who was primarily self-educated, (I'm not sure how much schooling he had been subjected to). He was a fantastic example of those individuals who used to be fairly commonly met in the past, but, unfortunately, since the passing of the one-room schoolhouses, are now rare.

I have written in previous blogs about the powerful social forces that keep everyone from beginning to question authorities of all kinds, as well as to force one to conform to social and cultural expectations.

Outwardly displaying unconventional lives only draws the attention of the enforcers in the world to you like flies to food. As discussed in my last blog, Lady Gaga is currently at the top of the heap called, "fame," and flouting conventions right-and-left. A few can get away with this, if they are rich enough, famous enough, and, sometimes, attractive enough, for a fair amount of time. However, recently, a number of individuals in the public eye, who have been found to have aspects of their lives which do not conform to societies norms have been brought down quit low.

A major trick to living outside boxes, is to appear to, "fit in" at least in some ways with social expectations. In other words, use caution and some sense in the endeavor, it is best to not, "stick out like a sore thumb."

Living outside of boxes means that you are in control of your life--not your Beliefs; not your needs; not your obligations to others, and, definitely not your addictions.

With that beginning, I end today's blog.

Shirley Gallup