Thanks to a tip from a professor, I discovered that recently a new toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. I found this article from the Boston Globe covering the story of the stick’s rise to the top of the list of the most treasured toys.
The article cites its simplicity and cost-effective nature, but what really struck me was the idea that part of what was great about the stick was that there were no rules, no assembly required sort of thing. The same is true of a past inductee, the cardboard box. Oh the simplicity we have left behind.
I have always been a by-the-rules kind of girl. I always obeyed my teachers and parents, followed any directions given me, and colored inside the lines because I didn’t want to get in trouble and maybe because I felt this pressure to not disappoint. But sometimes I wish I weren’t so much like that. I think we all probably do to some degree. There are so many rules absolutely worth breaking (of course while still considering any moral implications) and that is another thing that incorporated into adutlhood would send us all to the heart of who we really are.
I feel there needs to be some point where we make our own rules. By doing this we can take what seems to be nothing (similar to the stick or the cardboard box) and make it our own, make it something that has the power to change our reality. As I am growing older and taking more responsibility for the course of my life, I find I am gaining more courage to break some rules, take some chances, and venture every part of me just so that I can gain something.
Interesting thought: a branch must break in order to make a stick.
