What's In Your Boxes?

I was awakened early this morning by the sound of my roommates' cat rooting around in a box of clothes in my closet, which he had managed to open (this particular cat is sometimes too bright for his own good).  Judging by the way the cat was eagerly diving inside, I was thinking, rather sarcastically, that he was acting as if he were about thisclose to finding the Holy Grail inside a box of things that weren't his to play with.

With that, I snapped awake with a start, as it suddenly dawned on me that, to him, he probably *was* finding a version of the Holy Grail in that box, as he's not the most confident cat in the world, and he's been having sovereignty issues.   Peace, comfort, warmth, and (comparative) safety in this,  hidden-in-a-box state, is probably as close to the Holy Grail as he's going to get for the time being.

As I got out of bed to shoo the cat from my closet, I started musing to myself just how many people, lived life the same way.  Forever digging through the boxes and closeted parts of their psyche and their very existence--or the boxes & closets of others, for things such as peace, warmth and safety, yet either finding the very opposite, or worse, getting a scolding for being in the wrong place.

 I could feel his confusion and fear as I gently lifted him out of the box, and calmly escorted him out of the closet.  I held him for a bit (yes, I have animal handling skills) gently explaining to him ( I do talk to animals, and while I believe they do not always understand the spoken words proper, I believe they do understand the intent behind our spoken language) that my closet, while a great place to hide, was not a _safe_ place for him to be.

I snuggled him over my shoulder until he relaxed and began to purr, while I told him what a good and handsome cat he is (he is--SUCH an expressive face), while also sending the energy of unconditional love to the people, especially children, who live the same way I had just gently discouraged the cat from doing.

 What could be in those boxes that would give people the impression that the things they think that they want, exists in a box, be it their own box, or, alternatively, a box belonging to someone else?  Why would something that is located in a box _that's been packed away_, be so valuable that someone would spend their life searching for it, and forget entirely that the whole concept of boxes translates into a place to put something that's is being/has been packed away, either for safekeeping, or to be forgotten?  Abuse and fear are certainly good places to start, but, I believe that there are more answers to the question than that.

What is in your metaphorical boxes?   Are the boxes really yours to start with?  Is what is in the box really yours?  If not, then why have you taken the responsibility of that box?  What might have you packed away for either safekeeping, or for the purpose of forgetting it?  What would be the hazard, if any, of opening those boxes and examining the contents to see if they are still needed, or if those contents really can be safely forgotten, or just as safely passed on to someone else?

Until next time..peace.