The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

I Just want to share another good story that’s been circulating the internet for a while now.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly 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. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf 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 and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the 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, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained; your life would still be 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 spouse out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf balls first --the things that really matter--

Set your priorities.
"The rest is just sand."

One of the students 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's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

The Wooden Bowl

This story reached my email inbox a few times. It’s no surprise that it’s been circling the web for some time now as it truly leaves an impact to the one who reads it. Now, instead of forwarding it again to my email circle, I thought of posting it here so I (and all of you who read me) may always be reminded of its lesson.

The Wooden Bowl
Author Unknown

(photo credit: flicker.com)

A frail old man lived with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his four-year-old grandson. His eyes were blurry, his hands trembled, and his step faltered.

The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, drooping to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily at the tablecloth.

With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

"We must do something about grandfather," said the son.

"I've had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor," the daughter-in-law agreed.

So the couple set a small table at the corner.

There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly: "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days, grandfather ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk was spilled or the table cloth was soiled.

I hope that I won’t falter in fulfilling my moral duty to my parents by not allowing inconvenience take control of me.

Food for Inspiration

For a few days now, I am completely drawn to beautifying this food blog but since I don't have an artist touch, I had to recruit Boq to do the artsy stuff for me. To help him get some ideas I was checking some blogs that I find neat and beautifully designed and forwarding to him the urls. As I do so, I discovered some inspirational blogs: moms blogging about their growing family, the joy of parenthood, lost of an angel, adoption journey and faith in God. I was just after checking out the templates, banners and other crafty items in those blogs. I never thought I would be glued to reading their posts. I got really inspired and would like to mimic their blogging passion. And so I thought, someday, when I and Boq finally receive our gift from God, I would like to document the whole thing like what those moms did for our child to see his or her conception and growing up years. Isn't that an inspiring idea?

Cheers!