The File Room

CONFESSION.

I am a consumer.  A consumer of information.  I feed off of sensory input.  I am almost constantly intaking, processing, organizing the newly acquired information, reorganizing, reorganizing, reorganizing.  Then, I start the process over again.   Sometimes, these processes can occur concurrently.

It's an amazing thing, the human brain.

But it has also occurred to me of late that my love for a near-constant newness of information – while it has been a huge blessing in my life – can also become a bit of a vice.  Perhaps put more strongly:  It can become a distraction.

A scary statistic via Google Reader (a blog tracker that delivers blog posts to an inbox):  over the past 30 days, I have read 1,893 posts (at least partially, but most all the way through). 

....There may just be no words.

What magnifies the issue?  Blog reading is just a fraction of my information-consuming tendencies.  I have spent literally hours listening to podcasts and perhaps more reading.  Certainly way up there is the discovering and listening to of new music.

Doesn't that just boggle your mind?  It certainly does mine.  And it makes me think...

Here's the good news:  I try to ensure that the information to which I subject my mind is geared toward education on topics that matter – first and foremost:  spiritual, current events, work-related, hobbies.  More than half of all of my incoming information is topical to spiritual matters, be they blogs, books, articles, podcasts, journals, etc.  So, that's good

....Right?  I have to say, when I look at it in the stark light of day, it just seems like so much information.  

It reminds me of this modern day parable called "The File Room" (just scroll down to where you see the sub-heading THE FILE ROOM).  Will I one day be shamed of the time I spent focusing on these pursuits?  Is it possible that my love for new sparks of inspiration is good, but that there is something greater on which to rely?

What if I replaced some of this time with more in-depth, more intuitive Scripture study?  Or, more time spent pondering in the temple of our Lord?  I know that my focus on bringing new information into my life has helped me to become a more grounded person, to think more deeply about the Gospel, to become a person who thinks and puts forward original thoughts, but I still can't shake the idea that there could be something a bit greater if I were willing to take a few steps backward and see the big picture.