The "nine dots" puzzle. The goal of the puzzle is to link all 9 dots using four straight lines or less, without lifting the pen. (The solution below)

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  I say, if you’re alive you still have breath to think, act and respond, you've a long way to go.  An 89 year old couple taught me a simple card game called “SKIP – BO”. What a great time it was. So simple.  I forgot how pleasurable it is to let your hair down and show the fun loving side within. Sometimes we take life to serious.

We set our own limitations. If you have come to a stagnant time, think of the not so obvious that makes one tick. Think of the opposite reactions that are set in your pattern.

Patterns are established outlines or models.  Thinking out of the box is having no lid, no boundaries, no pre established notions. Children will venture out, unaware of the consequences good or bad from following their first instincts. The child has no apprehension just curiosity. The adults that care for them set limitations of exploration for safety, because the child has yet to establish the common sense and knowledge of what can bring them harm. The child is forced into a box.

Remember the "Jack in the box" wind up toy.  You wound that little crank and when the lid opened the Jack popped out! The element of surprise is always there enough to make you flinch. But you knew it was going to happen within seconds.  The toy at first was fun and unpredictable. With time, even when you cranked it slow the Jack would pop out, just not with the same gusto!

Jack's problem is fatal. He will never get out of the box.  Someone will continually press him back in place till the next time the crank is wound.  In our life, how many of us are "Jacks" in a box?   Our crank can be turned over and over, and our response the same.  We do however, have a mind, which is our vehicle to get away from the box and oppression of someone else controlling our spontaneity, giving us the ability to be spontaneous and unpredictable in a good way.

Who minds your box? When you watch kids play in a big appliance box, they dream up different uses for staying in the box. The last thing they want is to give up the fort!  Adults on the other hand, our dreams are bigger and cannot flourish in a 4 x 4 mindset. Good luck in your next move!

One of many solutions to the puzzle is to go beyond the boundaries to link all dots in 4 straight lines.