The
other night, as I was busily typing away at my computer, wondering where
the day had gone, I opened an email that was forwarded to me by my wife
from her computer. She has a way of finding these little stories and
sending them to me from time to time. Perhaps she has realized that it
is easier to communicate with me over the internet than in person. Who
says my life has become ruled by my computer. In any event, the
following story had a profound impact on me when I read it. It has now
become one of my all-time favourites and I would ask you to cut it out
and put it on your fridge or in your wallet where you can read it over
and over again as a reminder to set your priorities right.
“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 which were all about two inches
in diameter, right up to the top. He than asked the students if the jar
was full? They agreed that it was.
So the professor then
picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook
the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas
between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if
the jar was full? They agreed that yes, it was.
The professor then
picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course the sand
filled up everything else.
“Now,” said the
professor, “the jar is full.”
He then emptied the
contents back on to the table and separated the rocks, the pebbles and
the sand. Then he placed the sand back into the jar. Next he placed the
pebbles back into the jar. Finally, he began to put the rocks back in
one at a time. By the time he reached the top and had run out of room,
he still had many of the rocks on the table.
“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 - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost,
you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in your
life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things
like your job, your house, your car and things like that. They are
important to you but they can be replaced and are often replaced during
the course of your life. The sand is everything else - the small
stuff.”
The professor
continued, “If you put the sand and the pebbles into the jar first,
there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you
spend all your energy and time on the small stuff - material things -
you will never have room for the things that are truly most important.
Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. 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 yard. Take care of the rocks first - the
things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles
and sand.”
We often get so hung
up on the sand and pebbles in life that we take the rocks for granted.
Our days are filled with so many activities and events that we feel are
important and critical, yet, in attempting to fill “our jars” with
sand and pebbles, the rocks are often overlooked. When your partner
suddenly asks for a divorce; when your children leave home; when your
doctor informs you that you have a dreaded disease; when you find
yourself all alone - only then do your realize how important these
“rocks” were in your life and only then do you ask yourself why you
didn’t spend more time taking care of the “rocks” instead of the
sand and pebbles.
Let this little story
be a reminder of how important it is to take care of the rocks first -
the things that really matter in life. The rest is just sand and
pebbles.
Have a good week!