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Your Favourite ...?

Started by catty, July 05, 2013, 11:34:23 AM

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catty

Have a favourite book, building, joke, movie, place or story ... or anything really that made you pause and want to share with someone else, then this topic is for you.


I'll start us off with the "Mayonnaise Jar"


When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.


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

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills 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 it 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 – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff." he said.

"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..." he told them.

"So... pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. 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 and said, "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."

-catty
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

rooker1

I live life this way and I always find the house is very messy.
Funny though, even after the sand, more still fits.....you can add water.

Robin
Call me Robin, please.

Diggis

I've heard it told that after the sand the lecturer explained it and then a student poured a beer in.  I prefer that version.   $%Grinno$%

Swordmaster

So the lesson here is: most important thing in life is golfing. Then fishing by the mountain creek. Then lying on the beach. Then drinking coffee.

Got it - I'm ordering the clubs right now.


Cheers
Willy

catty

#4
Quote from: Swordmaster on July 06, 2013, 05:18:13 AM
...Got it - I'm ordering the clubs right now...



Quite some years ago my Father bought at a jumble sale an old picture with a embroidered saying on a cloth background and give it to me as a present, its hung in the hall ever since, its from a poem written by Minnie Louise Haskins and was published in 1908 which makes you wonder how old the picture is,  it was also quoted by King George VI in his 1939 Christmas broadcast and it was read out at the state funeral of the Queen Mother and it was also used in a Movie, its called "God Knows", my picture has these lines from it

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."

the rest of the poem for those of you who are interested can be found here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gate_of_the_Year

Its not something I would have bought, but it is up there as one of my favourite things, mainly because it reminds me of my Father who died in 1996

Cathy
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.