A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.

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

So the professor then 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 again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

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

The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time 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 dancing.

There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."



-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Answers

You've always seemed like someone who puts considerable thought into his rocks and their usage..fnaar fnaar.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Couldn't he just have got a bigger jar?

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Hahaha :))

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Gav - what a wonderful posting - where did it come from? (:o)

PS. If you follow it up with a glib or trite punchline - I`ll throttle you! (;o)

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Geordie chap at work sent it to me.....I liked it so thought I'd share it with you all.....dunno where it came from originally....

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

I think it`s time I emptied my jar. (:o|

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

I saw this a couple of years ago. My boss (at the time) sent it to me. He's a prat and I'm not as philosphical as Gav so I just kept the lid on.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Thats really lovely Gav! Very appropriate! (;o)

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

What did your boss send you Screacher? A jar full of sand?

Gav, you old softie, becoming mellow?

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Seeing as how you can stick water in there at any point in the process without it affecting anything, that must be all the time you spend thinking about shagging....careful mind, cos if you do it too much it'll slop down the sides of the jar when you put something else in :-)

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Gav so what happens if I throw this jar away and get another one? How many jars can I have? Do they all need to be filled with rocks or can I add me own stuff?

So if I see someone walking around with a jar of sand, rocks and gravel shall I ask them if they know GAV?

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Sometimes you lot make me wonder :))

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

I wonder what you wonder Gav.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Hey gav! Do you remember when we were remembering about remembering, remember?

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001