I had lunch with a friend called Margaret Kelly the other day. She told me about an art exhibition she recently held in a village in Italy themed on a quote by Max Weber:
Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun.
Ignoring the gender exclusiveness common in Weber’s time, the quote really spoke to me.
However, where Margaret turns to art and paints pictures to express her thoughts and feelings about how we can get tangled up in webs of our own and others’ making, my mind turns to the power of having a personal vision to weave a web of my own choosing.
I wrote my first vision in the mid ’80s and review it annually. I’ve always seen my vision as a rudder that helps me keep steering in the direction I’ve set rather than getting caught up in the whirlpool called life. Weber’s quote has given me a new analogy: having a vision means I weave my own web of meaning and purpose and stops me getting tangled in others’ webs.
Do you have a personal vision that helps you weave your own web? If not, and Weber’s quote speaks to you too, check out our Vision Coaching service.
