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Author: Joe & Marcia Reinert, sno-river(at)comcast.net
Snoqualmie UM Church, Snoqualmie, WA

Date submitted:  February 15, 2005

(The material on this page is used by permission of the named author. It remains the creative property of the author. Permission is granted for use by youthworkers in their non-profit local ministry setting. Other use or publication should only be by permission of the author.)

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some
items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it 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 were 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 were full.

The students responded with an unanimous yes.

The professor then produced two cans of soda 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, your favorite passions-things that if everything else were 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," he continued, "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 your partner out to dinner. Go fishing. 
Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the 
disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the soda represented.
The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you
that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a
couple of sodas."

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