Turn the handle, pop the top, gotta jump out, of your world-in-a-box . . .

Lately I have been thinking of common threads that run through the problems that we face in our world.

The first thread that I have pulled is "we all need to get out a little more."

I think of myself as open minded. Most of us do. But generally speaking my world is small. I wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, devote, go for a jog, and get dressed. All that is done within a 1500 sq. ft. space (except for the jog. I'm up to a slightly greater distance than that). I am the only one around. I either go to the office or to court, where I spend my day dealing with the same kind of issues I dealt with yesterday and the day before and the year before. After work I go home, eat dinner, and do the tasks required of living in society: laundry, housecleaning (no snickering from you folk who have been to my house), bill paying (no snickering from my creditors), and maybe writing a bit.
Sure, I travel to exotic locations like Birmingham, Gadsden, Cullman, Ashville, Double Springs, Tuscaloosa and many other diverse places. But even in those travels I am contained in my own world, my own car, my own work, only at the places that I must go. After doing this for over half my life, I find myself boxed in. I adopt the assumption that the whole world is like my world. The rules are the same. The concerns are the same. The joys and sorrows are the same. All life is the same as mine. But through some kind of grace occasionally I am forced into some situation that takes me out of my world and into another. What begins as uncomfortable ususally turns out to be exhilerating. I wonder why I don't choose to leave my world-in-a-box more often.

If you are thinking, "what are you talking about Bob?" then you are probably well situated in your own world-in-a-box. For instance, when was the last time you:

Spent time in a neighborhood that is completely different than yours. Not just driving through, but stopping at a gas station or a cafe or a yard and just talking to someone.

Ate a meal with someone of a different ethnicity

Spent significant time with a person with a disability, be it physical or mental.

Visited someone in jail or prison. Or the family of someone in jail or prison.

Talked at length with someone with a drug or alcohol addiction.

If you are a church goer, skipped Sunday services and went out into your community to see what non church goers were doing on Sunday morning.

If you are not a church goer, went to church on Sunday morning.

Visited and worshipped at a church significantly different in some way than the one you usually attend.

Had a discussion with a person of a different religion.

Had a discussion with an aetheist.

Had a discussion with a person of a different sexual orientation.

Sat down with someone of a different political persuasion and listened to his or her point of view without interrupting.

Spent time with a person of a distinctly different generation and had a long conversation.

Visited a Waffle House or Krystal after midnight.

Ate at Hardees before 7:00 a.m.

Talked with a farmer about farming.

Talked with a police officer about his or her job. (Doesn't count if you're just friendly during a traffic stop)

Talked to a soldier about his or her experiences.

Went to a museum, a ballet, a symphony concert.

Visited a national park

Went to a city council, county commission or school board meeting.

Visited another state, or country.

Did some kind of charitable work in your community? Beyond your community?

Obviously not an exhaustive list, although it was getting a bit exhausting. Sorry about that. But the point is, how often do you do any of these things? How many have you done? If you have not spent time with people of other races and ethnicities, how can you hope to understand their problems? If you have never heard and seen the challenges of persons of disability and the look of triumph or defeat on their faces, how can you understand how to help? I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. Have you fallen into your world-in-a-box and got stuck?

And you and I are not the only ones with this problem. Why do the actions of our government leaders seem so ridiculous sometimes? The CEO's of mega corporations seem so out of touch? Their boxes may be a bit fancier, have a few more amenities, but they are still boxes. And when you live in a plush world-in-a-box with all the luxuries, you don't have much incentive to ever leave.

But we must leave if we are to improve, to learn, to understand. First thread. We gotta get out a little bit.