jack.in.a.box.or.out.of.it?

We all know the cliched term "To think out of the box", but I personally have never begun to explore what that statement actually means. At least not until my photography lecturer (or simply 'cher as bohboh says) set this week's assignment as the open-ended topic entitled "THE BOX". To me, I tend to view abstract notions in very literal ways, a total irony to the gist of the entire exercise. Thus was it any surprise that the first image to pop into my mind was that of an empty cardboard box?!? I can just SO imagine myself taking a series of photos based on physical box. But what use would it do? Neither post-rationalisation nor any amount of crap/smoke would be able to save my series from its imminent path to destruction. This approach would also not do anything to help me find myself nor my values and opinions that I so desperately need at this present stage in my life. Somebody help... hhhhheeeeeeeeelllllllpppp!

This was what 'cher emailed to us after yesterday's class- some rather thought provoking analogies indeed:

i know how i would think out of the box, but not everyone approaches the same problem in the same way.

it all depends if you are an optimist or pessimist to begin with.
the best way to forget something is not to try to forget but let it remain and fade away.

how do you think out of the box? by being out of it? by ignoring it's existence? by pretending that there isn't one at all? or isit by giving recognition to it's existence yet not giving it attention?

everything exists only because you want it to.

can you still write straight if your pages have no lines?

to some people, the box is the ultimate guide to life, without which they would be lost. to others it is just a total hindrance to progress, an obstacle to the path ahead. what is a box anyway? is it physical or spiritual? is it internal or external? the parking lots are often smaller in our head than they actually are in real life, we fear to push the limits therefore we hardly or seldom excel in whatever we do. we just strive to get by. school teaches you to be like everyone else, but life teaches otherwise. this is the reason why many are lost once they step out of school. it's a comfort zone, a nice big cheap parking lot.

"if no one else is doing it, it's probably not worth doing."
"no one else is doing it, i better be the first?"

which one is you?