funnels

Here is something that's been kicking around in my brain lately that actually does not directly have anything to do with my kids! Wonder of wonders.

There is an analogy that I was taught where I used to work, by our abstinence education teachers. (please don't stop reading if you disagree with abstinence-only sex education... I am not actually going to write on that subject here... but if you want to talk about it post a comment and I will gladly go there!)

The analogy is of a funnel. I believe it applies to a lot more than just decisions about sex. The more I think about it and the more I see different friends and family members going through life the more it is just a good analogy. If you, while you are young, live your life in the broad part of the funnel, "living large", not taking care with decisions, doing what you want in order to "live in the moment", spending your money carelessly, etc. etc., you cause your future to dwindle into the narrow part of the funnel. You have fewer and fewer options. Life gets harder and harder because you've backed yourself into a corner.

On the other hand if you live in the narrow part of the funnel: take care to plan ahead and work toward goals. Be willing to make some sacrifices or harder choices, Practice self denial in certain areas (again, not just sexually) you pave the way to one day live in the broader part of the funnel, where more opportunities will come your way and you will have more options of what kind of life you want to live. You won't be a slave to negative consequences of your former decisions, but freed up by good choices you made.

Of course there are things that happen in life you can't control, but all this I guess is a complicated way (that makes a lot of sense to me) of saying your choices now really do affect your future. You were given free will. Use it wisely. :-)