Mayo & Beer... a life lesson

Not my own words... it was passed on to me from a good friend.

But I liked the metaphor a lot and thought it was very relevant to my outlook on life right now!

Enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much tohandle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough,remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. TWO BEERS: A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the classbegan, wordlessly, he picked up a very large andempty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it withgolf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. Theyagreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles andpoured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.The pebbles rolled into the open areas between thegolf 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 andpoured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filledup everything else He asked once more if the jar wasfull. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two Beers fromunder the table and poured the entire contents intothe jar, effectively filling the empty space betweenthe sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided,"I want you to recognize that this jar representsyour life. The golf balls are the important things;your family, your children, your health, yourfriends, and your favorite passions; things that ifeverything else was lost and only they remained,your life would still be full."

The pebbles are the other things that matter likeyour job, your house, and your car. The sand iseverything else; the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," hecontinued, "There is no room for the pebbles or thegolf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend allyour time and energy on the small stuff, you willnever have room for the things that are important toyou." "Pay attention to the things that are critical toyour happiness. Play with your children. Take timeto get medical checkups. Take your partner out todinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down theski slope. There will always be time to clean thehouse and fix the disposal. Take care of the golfballs first; the things that really matter. Set yourpriorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquiredwhat the Beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It justgoes to show you that no matter how full your lifemay seem, there's always room for a couple ofBeers with a friend.”