Inspiring philosophy

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in from of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

When done he asked the class if they thought the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor then picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar lightly so that the pebbles rolled around and filled the gaps between the gold balls.

Again he asked the students if they thought the jar was full.

They once again agreed and said it was.

Next the professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course the sand filled up the remaining space between pebbles and golf balls.

He asked the class once more if they thought the jar was full to which they unanimously replied "yes"

The Professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the desk and added them to the jar filling any remaining space.

"Now" said the professor, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life."

"The golf balls are the important things – Your Family, children, health, religion, friends and passions."

"Things that if everything else were lost and only they remained your life would still be full."

"The Pebbles on the other hand are matters like your house, job and car. "

"The Sand is everything else. All the small stuff."

"If you put the sand in first you will have no room for the Golf balls or pebbles. The same goes with life.''

"If you spend all your time on the small stuff, you won't have room for the important things in life."

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to you happiness."

"Play with your children"

"Take your partner out to dinner"

"Have a medical check up"

"There will always be time to clean the house and fix the car."

"Set your priorities and take care of the golf balls first. The rest is just sand."

One of the Students at this point 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 is always room to have a cup of coffee with a friend."