There’s a song that came out when I was in high school called Little Boxes. Pete Seeger released the social satire in 1963 as a criticism of the creation of suburbia with its urban sprawl and conformity.
“Little boxes on the hillside. Little boxes made of ticky -tacky. Little boxes, little boxes. Little boxes all the same.” The song goes on to speak of how all the people who live in the boxes turn out just the same. They do the same things, get the same results, and to hear Pete tell it, it’s going to be that way forever.
It’s a simplistic view of a complicated world. The people who lived in the houses may have appeared to be the same but that’s just not true. Each person forged a unique path.
As I think back on the song, I believe that each box hides what’s truly inside. You have to take off the lid to see and be open to taking a deep dive to understand what lies within.
I have a friend who has several boxes from her past stored in the entry to her house. She’s going through each, one at a time, sorting and selecting what should stay and what should go. There are lots of papers and lots of pictures and she is reviewing them one by one.
I’ve attended a meeting with her every week since early January. Every week she talks about those boxes. I don’t know how many she has but her life is packed within them. She also talks about wanting to move on, but the boxes are blocking her path. Her past is blocking her future.
Sometimes the future is blocked by something within our heart. We can’t let go of the past, so our future remains stagnant. That may be what is happening with my friend and her boxes. The memory within each box contains a piece of her heart. If she puts the box aside a part of her life is gone. Conversely, if she puts the box aside, she has more room to grow.
We all have boxes in our lives. Some are as large as a house, some are made of cardboard, and some beat like a heart. They’re all important because we make them so. We provide the value through our actions and the lives we live. Without us the houses, cardboard boxes and even the hearts that keep us going, are just things. It’s what we do with the things that count. The doing part is how we spend our time.
How we spend our time is the most important decision we’ll ever make. Choose wisely. Don’t focus on the things stored in your house or the boxes within. Focus on the people who bring life to your box.
And for those of you who may be curious, here’s Pete’s song. It’s a catchy little tune.