time to get rid of the box

Or better yet, why don't you just give it to me.  You know I love a good box.  Okay, different kind of box. 

You've all heard the sayin', right?  That ol' sayin' that peeps use.  They say to "think outside of the box."  Come on...  you know you've heard it.

Well, my peep #1 absolutely hates that sayin'.  She just can't stand it.  She says that when other peeps use it, she kind of cringes and shudders, inwardly and I have to admit, I sort of agree with her.

First of all, it doesn't even make sense.  I mean...  if you've got a box, you've got a perfect nappin' spot.  And while you're drifting off to sleep for your nap, you're probably thinking.  Thinking about mice and nip and treats and all sorts of wonderful things.  You might even be thinking about numbers while you're counting sheep to lull you to sleep.  And I assure you, my friends, that all this stuff you're thinking about is being thought about while you're IN the box.  'Cause IN the box is where you're gonna be nappin'.  It would be silly to think about all this stuff outside of the box and then have to wake yourself up so that you can climb into the box for your nap.  That, my friends would be counter productive.  Not to mention, a little insane.  MOUSES!

Sometimes, while I'm drifting off to sleep, I'm thinkin' about egg beaters and whisks and time travelling and teleportation.  And if I happen to be driftin' off to sleep in a box, I'm likely thinkin' inside the box, too.  That's just how it is.

Then, of course, we have the litter box.  Some cats do their best thinkin' in the litter box.  At least that's what I've heard.  But what happens in the litter box, stays in the litter box so we won't dwell on that box too much although I should say this...  never pee outside of the box.  It does not bode well with the peeps.  'Nough said.

I know what you're thinking right about now.  You're thinking, "but this saying refers to a different kind of box.  It refers to a metaphorical box."   Yeah, yeah, yeah...  I know what it means.  To think outside of the box means to think unconventionally and be creative. 

I did some research on the subject and apparently, this whole business about the location of boxes while thinkin' was popularised in the mid to late twentieth century and had something to do with a nine dots puzzle.  Peeps were supposed to link all nine of the dots using four straight lines and without lifting their pencil off the paper.  Apparently, this could not be done without extending the lines outside of the supposed - but imaginary - box.

My first suggestion to peeps tryin' to do this puzzle would be to use a pen.  Or a marker or chalk or a piece of charcoal...  Or even a tube of lipstick.  The puzzle specifically said not to lift the pencil off the paper.  It mentioned nothing about lipstick.

I suppose the whole point of the test was for the subjects to break free from the restrictive confines of the box.  The imaginary box.  I say imaginary because let's face it, nine dots do not a box, make.  Perhaps someone was takin' a little creative licence when they came up with that one.

The thing is, this saying has been said so many, many, many times that it has become a cliché.  It has become the cliché of all clichés.  People just say it 'cause they think it sounds good.  You have nothin' better to say?  Well then, toss out a couple of  think outside of the boxes and you'll be good to go.  You'll at least sound like you know something about creativity.

Yeah...  right.  Prove you're creative by usin' a sayin' that has been used by millions before.

You know somethin'?  Half the time when people use this sayin', they probably don't even know what it means.  I, myself, didn't know 'bout those dots until I did my research.

Personally, I don't believe in the box.  I do not recognise the box. 

Oh, I believe in cardboard boxes.  Yes, those exist for sure, and I love every single one of them.  After all, I am a cat.  And I believe in litter boxes, too.  We have several at our house so they must exist.  But I do not believe in the imaginary box that supposedly stifles creativity.

Think inside the box...  Think outside of the box...  Who cares about the box?  As far as I'm concerned, you can think wherever you like as long as your thinking.  I think wherever my mind takes me.  Wherever that may be. 

If my mind wants to take me inside of a box, so be it.  If my mind wants to take me outside of the box, I'm okay with that, too.  Who am I to argue?  And with whom am I gonna argue?  Myself?  'Cause that's what arguing with my mind would be.

Right now, my mind is taking me to the land of the dots.  I'm thinkin' about those dots.  Those nine dots.  And I'm wondering, were they the ancient ancestors of the red dot?  The ever illusive red dot known to drive kitties worldwide just a little crazy?  They could have been.  After all, the puzzle with the nine dots made a lot of peeps a little crazy, I am sure.  I think there may be a connection.  A connection of crazy.  Hmmm....

This may need further investigation.  Luckily I, Nerissa the Cat, am an expert investigator.  I will discover this previously unknown connection between the nine and the red dots and reveal it to the world in a future blog post. 

But first, I think I need a nap.   Hmmm...  should I take my nap in a box?  I think I just might.  And while I'm doin' so, I'm gonna be thinkin'.  Thinkin' inside of the box.  Thinkin' about gettin' rid of that metaphorical box.  'Cause it's just such an uncreative cliché of a box.  MOUSES!