A friendly reminder...

I was reading my local newspaper yesterday the editorial contained a great little story by an unknown author that I can't stop thinking about and wanted to share with you. (Thank you, Alisa Corstophine of Lafayette Today)

A professor gave a lecture to his class. He began by placing a large jar that he proceeded to fill with big rocks. When he asked the students if the jar was full, and they agreed that it was the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He lightly shook the jar so the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the large rocks. The students once again thought the jar was full. Then the professor proceeded to pour sand into the jar, and of course the sand filled in the remaining space. When asked, the students unanimously agreed that the jar was now completely full. The professor then poured two cups of coffee into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand and the students laughed.

The professor proceeded saying, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The large rocks are the important things - your family, your education, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else were 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 there is no room for the pebbles or the large rocks. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have enough room for the things that are important to you."

At the end of the demonstration a student asked what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and responded, "It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a cup of coffee with a friend."  

In our hectic lives filled with all this go, go, go, it's easy sometimes to get caught up and forget what is really important. My hope is to remember this little story when I start to get wound up over the small stuff.