Thinking Outside The Box...

Okay, Boss...this one is for you and all the rest like me who think a little off the beaten path. You know who you are ~ the ones who make the world a little more colorful in an off-hand kinda way.

I was talking with someone I think very highly of and the conversation found its way to some of my idiosyncrasies, which I can assure you are way too many to list here. Suffice it to say, we determined it is a good thing that I process things a bit differently than say...um...normal people. At least I think we did, but nevertheless...

What often times seems so black and white to everyone else has so many nuances I can't even get my head around them all. I have an annoying tendency to want to look at a situation from all sides, turn it inside out, and examine it ad nauseum. But there is a method to my madness. It is through this process I have learned things way beyond just scratching the surface. I want to know why it does what it does when it does it. I know, annoying.

On the flip side, this lets me see people as more than two-dimensional. Well, for the most part. I am convinced there are some people relegated to two-dimensions because any more than that would make their minds explode. But...and this is a BIG but...that does not give me the right to diminish the light within them.

This is a struggle for me. I will not lie and say there aren't times I want to smack my head into a wall to the point of a self-induced coma because dealing with these folks is so incredibly trying on one's nerves. What I will admit is these are the times I need to think outside the box, get the crayons, draw a picture, and say, "You are here." These are the times I must call upon a higher-power to gently remind me I was once this person in the dark and it was only because someone showed patience to me and all my questions that I gained more dimensions.

Like a prism, the black and white of a situation can give way to a spectrum of colors the more it is turned and examined. People are like diamonds, with more facets than we can ever comprehend. Take them out of the box and they really begin to shine. Not everything, or everyone, needs to be so neatly categorized and systematized.

If everything I do is in God's name to give glory to Him, I must think outside the box. Otherwise, only the ones on the inside have the say, get to make the rules, run the show, and keep things status quo. And where is the fun in that?