boxesI keep the boxes my electronics come in. Almost all of them. I also keep boxes form Amazon or PetMeds. My reason? I say I’m an idealist. It’s always helpful to have boxes around for when you need to mail something or just put something… in a box. Well, that’s not entirely true. I keep a lot of my electronic boxes for more sentimental reasons. I guess that since I really like my electronics, I’m just reluctant to get rid of the box. What if I move? Nothing will hold my DVD player like the box it came in, right? Also, what if I needed to sell it for some reason. It’s going to sell better if I still have the box along with all the paperwork (which I keep in the box).

I know, I’ve got issues. My wife tolerates this tendency of mine, hut just barely.

I say I’m an idealist. I’m looking out for all my potential options. Someone else could say I’m paying it safe. I know one or two people who would just say I’m a packrat.

I bring this up only because it got me thinking about how perception often trumps the way things really are. I think one of my weaknesses is that I’m too idealistic. When I was a children’s pastor in Indiana, I never hung any pictures on the wall of my office. I hated the wall paper. My intention was to remove the wall paper and repaint. Then I would hang my pictures. It took a while to get authorization and when I did, I just didn’t have time to peel paper. So my pictures remained on the floor against one wall for 4 years. I shared this example of weakness with a potential employer many years ago. He said, “you want to know what your story tells me? It tells me that perhaps you were never really there… never fully present.”

I disagree with his perception. I do feel that I was fully there. I don’t think I ever felt it would be the place I’d work all my life, but I was present. Although perceptions can often be off, I do believe it is important to guard the perceptions we send out.

So, what perception does my silly box habit tell you?