A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty glass jar.
"Alright. So this is life. This jar is your life."
The professor proceeded to fill it with large stones. He then asked the students if the jar was full. Many agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a bag of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the stones. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a bag 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 a unanimous �yes.�
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and placed them next to the jar containing sand in between pebbles in between stones.
The students laughed.
"Now...if I pour these in...will the jar overflow?"
The students new the beers would not overflow the jar.
�Now,� said the professor as the laughter subsided,
�I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The stones are the important things, things that are solid and will never change and always be there for you�-your family, your children, your health, your friends, your dogs, and certainly your passions�-
and 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...seems like a lot of them because they're a lot to worry about. We don't want to lose them.
The sand is everything else�-the small stuff like insults you get, stress you put yourself through, deadlines you have to meet, anything you watched on television, the last movie you saw, a book you read, a topic you studied, that hot date you went on...maybe this class...or your cell phone. These cause feelings that can all be forgotten.
�If you put the sand into the jar first,� he continued, �there is no room for the pebbles or the solid stones. 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. These will feed your passions and help motivate you to work towards getting pebbles that you can sift sand through.
'Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18 holes of golf or see the movie you've been waiting forever to be released. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.
'Take care of the stones 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 Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, �I�m glad you asked.
'The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there�s always room to enjoy a couple of Beers with one of your solid stone people in your life whenever you need it.
The two beers will do.
Remember: Anything...anything...in excess...will overflow the jar, and you never know what you might lose."
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