Rocks

Dear Fellow Journalers,

Remember when you were in school and the teacher or professor would bring props to class? If you were like me, you probably eyed the object/s suspiciously and did not really concentrate on what the teacher was saying. Well, one philosophy professor brought some rocks to his class one day and here’s what happened:

He stood before the class and wordlessly began to fill a large empty mayonnaise jar with 2″ diameter rocks. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

So next, the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students if the jar was full. Again they agreed it was full.

The professor just smiled and took up a bag of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up all the empty crevices. Now the professor cleaned off his hands and spoke to the class.

“This is your life. The rocks are the important things in your life – your family, friends, children, health – anything that is most important to you. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, house, car, phone, laptop. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.

What would happen, for instance, if you were to put sand in first?” A student in the back of the room raised his hand and said “the rocks and pebbles wouldn’t fit.” “Yes,” said the professor. “If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you’ll never have room for the things that are important to you. So pay attention to the things that are important to your happiness.” He began to tick off the things that were important to many of his students. “To those of you who have children – play with them. Tell your wife or partner that you love them every day. Get health checkups. You can make time for house cleaning. Take care of the rocks first; the rest is sand.”