Fit me (or put me) in a Box

I think that's my first catchy title in a while ;)

I was reading the updates on the blogs I follow (love my dashboard) and I read this one particular post about productivity. It got me thinking...

My particular life seems very full sometimes, and sometimes it seems to me like I don't do anything. Since I was very young (I can't say younger because adults will be like, "You're not that old". ;) I've tried to be productive, as much as possible. But my life is simple- I'm not busy every second of the day (usually), and I don't do a dozen extracurricular activities or make progress on several womanly accomplishments a month. But I'm not sitting around eating bon-bon's (nope, I'm eating fruit-its healthier ;).

My life surely doesn't fit the standard for  stay at home daughter's, home schooled, fruitful young ladies. Because I fall under these titles, I am also expected to fulfill other people's expectations of how I should be living out these aspects of my life.

I think it is not good to set a standard, or make a box, for people to live up to or fit in. And I'm not just talking about major things like religion or education, but also less significant things like productivity. A question my mother always puts to me, when we talk about idealistic ideals or relevant topics, is, for example, "Is this person not g-dly (or whatever their supposed to be) because they don't appear as productive as we are a certain sect of people think or expect them to be? " And I reply, "Of course not". But if you take time to really look at it, that is how we, and most people,  think sometimes.

Another scenario is that if someone refuses to fit themselves into a box, they are then put into a box. This box would be titled- "Weird", "Rebellious", "Stubborn", "Ung-dly" or "Different", or something of that nature.

I am in between fitting and putting  myself and other people in a box. I am working on not fitting myself into boxes, and not putting others into them. But it takes work, and I think the work is even harder because this concept is universal and constant.

So I want to encourage you to not fit yourself into boxes, and even worse, don't put others in them either. Its hard not to treat others like you treat yourself- and I mean treating them in a negative and a positive way. If I am controlling, this doesn't only affect me, but everyone around me. So , b'ezrat HaShem (with G-D's help) let's give ourselves and each other freedom, just like He meant us to have.

Shabbat Shalom!!!!!!!