The professor stood before his class. He produced a tray of items, and selected an empty mayo jar. Then he added golf balls and capped off the jar. He asked his students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

Unscrewing the jar, he now poured a jug of pebbles into it. He shook the jar until it was filled to the brim. “Is it full now?” he asked again. The eager students agreed. Now the professor took a bag of dry sand and poured the contents into his jar, shaking it to fill it once more up to the brim. “It’s full,” The students volunteered, catching on, and smiling at his ingenuity.

The professor held up the jar. “The jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your family, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions. There’s no question that your life could be full with just these interests alone. If everything else was lost, your life would still be replete. The pebbles are other things that matter – your job, your religion, your service club, your house, your car, maybe. The sand represents everything else – the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there will be no room for the pebbles and golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small things, you won’t have room for the things that are more important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, visit your grandparents, take your spouse out to dinner, play a round of golf with your friends. There will always be time to unblock the disposal or to vacuum clean the house. Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter to you. Set your priorities – the rest is just sand.

Now the professor took his cup of coffee. Unscrewing the full mayo jar, he carefully poured the coffee in, right up to the neck.

“All right,” said a student, clearly entranced by the graphic demonstration, “What does the liquid represent, then?”

“I’m glad you asked, “ smiled the professor, “ It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a cup of coffee with a friend.”

Passed to Newsletter by Wor Joe Touchette,
Secretary of The Massachusetts Lodge, Boston.

From Newsletter 17
16 March 2006