Friday, January 14, 2005

Mayonnaise and coffee Jar

I received this in an email, I liked it and I want you to share it with me.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar....and the coffee..

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items tin from of him. when the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill with golf balls.

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 rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes”. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. “now” said the professor, as the laughter subsided ,”I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life”.

The golf balls are the important things- your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions 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 education, your house and 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 golf balls. The same goes for 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. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. take your partner out to dinner. There will be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorties. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented, The professor smiled and said” It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend”.

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rose thank you for that analogy. Although I had heard it before, it is great to be reminded again that much of life that we worry about is small stuff.

Although you are Sunni and I am Christian, I have no doubt we worship the same God. My hope is that soon you will have the freedom and happyness that I enjoy. And that soon it will be apparent that God blessings are known in Iraq has they are in the United States.

The important Election coming up soon in Iraq will be just a beginning for your people, but the beginning of defeat for the terrorists. Do not loose heart. The insurgents are trying to discourage you because they know a free Iraq means their end. By the end of this year with a diligent effort, elected Iraqis may have a constitution produced for freedom by the end of the year.

2:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rose,

I just noticed that Omar over at "Iraq The Model" has some good encouragement.

2:29 AM  
Blogger Mad Canuck said...

Hi Rose,

A very interesting analogy.

I read Johnny's comment and must say I disagree with him on this one. I tend to live by the saying "nothing wagered, nothing gained." The free-market economy (capitalism) is completely built on people taking calculated risks to further their own business interests. Every action you take is a risk: it can either help you, or hurt you. For each risk, you consider the potential gain, the potential loss, and the probability of each, and decide if the risk is worth taking.

There are some risks you take more for the good of society than for the good of yourself. Voting in Iraq's election is one of these things. If you vote, you take the risk that something bad may happen to you at the polling station if terrorists target it while you are there. But, if you and other moderates do not vote, you are leaving the decision to more extreme-minded people who are more willing to take this risk.

I would not advise you either way on this: I think whether to vote or not is a personal decision only you can make for yourself. Personally, I would be inclined to vote, even if there was a risk to myself, since if I did not vote, I would have to live with the knowledge that the terrorists had defeated me and silenced my voice by denying me my vote.

Shawn - www.madcanuck.com

9:53 PM  
Blogger The Queen said...

John you are a real piece of work. How in the world are the Iraqis benefiting the U.S. by voting? They are benefiting themselves only. Did they ever have an opportunity to vote in a real election before? NO Now they can and they can tell their grandchildren about it or if they were killed by terrorist while trying to do what is necessary for their country then I guess that they will go down in history as brave souls who tried to make a difference. It sure sounds like you are working for the bad guys here. People like you are the people that stay enslaved because they aren't brave enough to do anything about it. Someone has to do it. I still don't understand where all these brave insurgents were when Saddam was oppressing his people.

1:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I still don't understand where all these brave insurgents were when Saddam was oppressing his people."

Lynn, I will betcha a cookie to a doughnut that a big share of them were helping with the "Oppressing." :o(

2:32 PM  
Blogger HikingMike said...

well since it is Jan 30th, night, I'd like to say for everyone: NANY NANY BOO BOOO hehehe

GO IRAQ, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT.

8:35 PM  
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