Boxed-in

My house is surrounded by hedges of boxwood. They are healthy well-established shrubs that will probably last for years and I should be very happy with them.

But I'm not! They make me feel, well...boxed-in. Their evenly-trimmed square shape gives the feeling of tightness and ridged conformity. They convey closedness not the openness I'm trying to live. I have lovely windows that open out into the world and let light in but when I look out I see these shrubs that make me feel constricted.

I'd like to get rid of them and plant something with a more free-form shape. Or several different plants that would bring in some interesting diversity. But it seems wasteful to dig up these healthy plants and a needless cost to try to replace them.

So I guess I'll learn to live with them for now. This will give me some practice in accepting things as they are and perhaps I can transfer the learning experience to my relationship with some people in my life who I feel are ridged and boxed-in. If I can accept the shrubs why not those people--both are glorious creations of God.