## The thing My mind in the present
## Is Like An adventurous octopus.
## How? An octopus, reaching, touching, sensing around. Getting into gaps that others can't (because of bones). Creative, colourful.
## Is not like Unlike an octopus, my octopus likes being with other octopuses - their octopusness inspires and excites my octopus!
## The Story When I'm in an environment I can explore, my octopus reaches out and learns, sensing, assimilating ideas and others' ideas, putting things together that don't normally go together to see if they relate or can be used in novel ways. Always looking for new paths, trying new things and ways of looking at things. Can I pull this apart? Can I climb over it? Can I dig it up? What does it do if I throw it (stone or bird)? etc. When I'm in a 'regular job' or some other kind of organised system/situation, my octopus is at first excited and curious, but as time goes on, the discovery tentacles get slapped and told 'no'. This usually ends up with my octopus feeling like it's in a glass box, squashed and constrained. Sad and disappointed.
## Learning At first, I thought the 'glass box' was a creation of others through rules etc, but by using this metaphor, I wondered if the box was real, or if the tentacles just retract and simply don't try again, until I'm all bunched up in an angry mess. But a self-imposed angry mess. Maybe the box is made of fear-boundaries rather than firm-boundaries.