Stacked polished stones

2022

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Year of Gradation

Gradation can be defined as a concept of sorting. That can be by size, importance, degree, and more. The well-known analogy of a jar of rocks uses this idea to illustrate the richness of life and how we fill it most completely with a thorough gradation of 'stone' sizes. Simplified, it is often distilled to be large rocks, pebbles, and sand that make the primary categories for the 'jar of life'. Here, the order matters. Biggest first, then smaller, then filler. A disordered approach would over-indulge on filler and pebbles and not leave space for the biggest (and most important) rocks.

It is important to recognize that only focusing on the big rocks would leave the jar "full" but not full. A wholesome and balanced life is a full jar.

This year's theme is Gradation. Not to focus on everything at once, but to remember that the order is really what matters. Big rocks first. Said another way, this might be cast as 'prioritization', but that then begs the question - what is the highest priority? "Big rocks first" is the mantra of Gradation. It both reminds of the broader picture (that all size rocks are important in their appropriate measure), and answers the question of what the highest priorities are. It is a useful tool to evaluate time and energy spent in a given day, through a week, or over the entire year. This right-ordering of time for the different size 'stones' allows the space to do them well and leave them as polished as initially desired.

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