A Parable for a Modern Life

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Guys, I gotta admit, I LOVE Denzel Washington... and it seriously makes this whole story even better if you imagine him as the professor giving the lecture. Just sayin' Guys, I gotta admit, I LOVE Denzel Washington... and it seriously makes this whole story even better if you imagine him as the professor giving the lecture. Just sayin'

How many of those ubiquitous chain emails did you get today? You know the ones I mean, they usually have some kind of cautionary tale, with an admonition at the end to "forward this on to everyone you know!"  I pretty much only get emails like this from my mother anymore, and I almost always delete them without opening (shh... don't tell her), so when I saw this story pop up on my Facebook feed, I almost ignored it as well

Yes, this little parable for a modern life is most likely wholly fictional. And yes, it reads like something that would come out of one of those chain emails... but... maybe buried in her there's also a hint of an important message. Something that can serve to remind us about the truth of how to make happy work in our lives. Why don't you read it for yourself, and then let me know what you think?

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.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed again that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the rest of the space. He asked once more if the jar was full, and his students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two pint glasses of beer from under the table and poured the contents of both into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of 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, children, health, friends and your favourite passions; things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, would still make your life full.”

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and 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 time to get medical checkups, take your partner out to dinner and play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the leaky tap. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities, because the rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

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

- Author Unknown

*photo credit: AP/Weinstein Co via blog.pennlive.com

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Lindsay Brunner

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