08/10/01

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, 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 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.  Play with your children.  Take time to get
medical checkups.  Take your partner out dancing.  There
will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a
dinner party and fix the disposal.  Take care of the rocks
first -- the things that really matter.  Set your
priorities.  The rest is just sand."

But then, a student 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.