The Mayonnaise Jar

This was sent to me and I found it very insightful. Hope it is an encouragement to others and a reminder to set priorities in the most important order.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough; remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

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 start to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it 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 was 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 was full. The students responded with an unanimous "Yes".

The professor then produced two cups of coffee 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 - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and 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.

So...
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 to dinner.
Connect with friends.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

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 coffee 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 cups of coffee with a friend.

Measuring Life

The question arises "How do we measure life?" when someone we know dies young. And what is considered young...any time before 40, 50, or 60? Do we measure how long we have lived by:
How many hair styles we have gone through with the changing fashions?
How much the price of gasoline, bread, or candy bars have increased?
How many different cars we have driven?
How many more square feet the size of our house has increased?
How many children we have had?

I assume no one measures life by those things intentionally. I think a better way to think about it is to measure:
How many laughs you gave to others
How many smiles you have shared
How many people you have loved
How many kind deeds you have performed
How many times you have been patient
How many times you were in awe of nature
How many prayers you have uttered
How many times you have given hope to others
How many times you wiped tears of others

When a life ends, others shed tears because of the memories they had and the knowledge that there will be no more. This brings the thought of what is really important in life. I suggest it is memories. What do we carry with us through that corridor that leads from this life to the next? ....only our memories. What do we leave behind for those who walk behind us on this journey? ...only memories. The only thing that will connect forever those who knew us are memories.

Losing a loved one always gives us pause to reflect on what really matters in this life. Measure and weigh it. Consider the memories being made today and cherish them. Everything else tends to fade away.

Dedicated to Amitabh Das and all who knew him.



This clip is from the end of the movie, Jack, staring Robin Williams as a man whose body ages 4 times faster than normal, while his mind ages normally. In this clip he is really only 18 years old. The film's message deals with what is important in life. Bill Cosby has a nice monologue in the movie where he points out that shooting stars are the brightest in the sky although they only last for a short time.

Memory Lane

Strange what you run across once you start down memory lane. I heard a Letterman song on Pandora today and when I did a search for it on Blip that led to other Letterman songs, and then I stumbled onto Sha Na Na with them on You Tube. I don't think I ever watched their show, but I did enjoy seeing them perform at different places. It was unbelievable what a low voice Bowser had!! When I was at college at Trinity University, I saw the Letterman perform along with Johnny Mathis. This all reminds me that I need to get back to work on getting my 33 1/3 record albums digitized into the computer. Here are a couple of You Tube videos from the Dark Ages!!



And I dare you to try to watch this one and not laugh!!