On Wrapped Packages

Ever noticed something about merchandise that comes wrapped in a package? When you start opening the wrapping you'll notice that the box and the item rarely exactly correspond. You begin shlepping out a lot of those popcorn pellets or bubble wrap or crushed paper. Suddenly the real shape of the item starts immerging. But sometimes there is more yet. The item has a protective shrink-wrap around it, and there may be more tissue inside that wrap. Finally, finally you get to the item, and notice the mound of wrapping laying next to it. Sometimes that wrapping is 2-3 times the volume of the item itself. On a few rare occasions the packaging and the item conform perfectly as to size and shape. It can be annoying as all get out to do the unwrapping, but if you actually want to use that item then unwrap it you must. It won't do you any good sitting all prettily wrapped up on a counter somewhere.

Ever notice how shidduchim can be parallel to getting that wrapped package? Every care has been taken to make that outside wrapping as tasteful as possible, as appealing as possible. The package may be emblazoned with all kinds of advertising slogans about the utility of the item, about how it is the best of its class. Those crazy shidduch questionnaires and resumes are mostly about the wrapping and very little about the item in the box. Those resumes tell us about the outside face that someone shows to the world. They tell us about how the person looks on paper. What they don't do is give us the person within, the actual item that we are looking for.

Buying an item because you like the looks of the wrapping paper and the box it comes in is bound to lead to some real surprises once the wrapping comes off and the box is opened. Far better to unwrap that paper, open the box and remove the object within so that it can be looked it better. After all, the wrapping and box get tossed into the garbage almost immediately--it's the item within that is supposed to last.

Far better to take the time necessary to carefully "unwrap" anyone you are considering as a marriage partner. If you're looking to live the rest of your life with this "item," check out just what you are really getting, and take all the time you need. Many a person who has found out, to their detriment, that what they ended up with was a prettily wrapped empty box. And many a person who was "sold" one item only to find a totally different item once the wrapping came off.