What does this graphic say to you?
The inspiration for my funky image was a poster created by a student, Ryan Morgan, in response to What did you learn in school?
It’s a thought provoking image that got me thinking in a couple of directions. I’ll share one today and another next time.
As we establish goals for 2012, each of us is, in some sense, a funnel. We’re bombarded by inputs clamoring for attention. Either actively or passively, we all decide how we’ll spend the 1440 minutes God gives us each day.
From an amazing array of options, something emerges from the bottom of the funnel that represents our judgment about the proper use of that particular hour, day, month, or year.
We all have access to the same inputs. We control that part of the diagram to some extent through what we choose to read (or not), the media we consume, and the people with whom we associate.
There’s also a certain amount of the culture from which we can’t realistically isolate ourselves. Unless we cloister ourselves in a monastery, we interact with random inputs from coworkers, neighbors, and media.
All of that stuff, the parts we intentionally choose and those we encounter just by living in society, is what enters the top of the funnel. Some might argue that wisdom lies in tight control of the input. I’m not sure about that.
The real wisdom, the art of living, seems to reside in how we process those inputs. That’s the funnel. That’s what determines whether the output is light or darkness.
The goal, it seems, is to become a better, more intentional funnel.
How can you be a better funnel in 2012?
Please leave a comment here.
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