Submitted By: (Marie Bannister)
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had
some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large
empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks,
rocks about 2" in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a
box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook
the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the
open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students
again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor
picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of
course, the sand filled up everything else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you
to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the
important things - your family, your partner, your health,
your children - things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your
job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else,
the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first, there
is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes
for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on
the small stuff, you will never have room for the things
that are important to you. Pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the
rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just sand."
But then a student then took the jar which the other
students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded
to pour in a glass of beer. Of course the beer filled
the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly
full.
The moral of this tale is: no matter how full your life
is, there is always room for beer.
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