Pebbles and Golf Balls

A professor stood before his philosophy class and there was a mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee and other items in front of him. When the class began, he quietly picked up the 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 emptied 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. The sand filled up the rest of the empty space. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then took the two cups of coffee and poured the entire contents into the jar. 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 represent the very the important things, the core elements – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions – even if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles stand for the other things that matter like your job, house, mobile phone and car. The sand stands for 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 important and significant things and persons your of life.

“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 asked what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I'm glad you asked” he said and continued, “It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a few cups of coffee with a friend.” Jesus also said: “Build you house on rock and not on sand.” We must build our life on more solid and lasting elements – spirituality, love, peace and brotherhood.

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Learn from Mistakes

One of the most popular story was that of Edison relating to his inability to invent the electric bulb. Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.” Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.

Story of thief and robber

O nce a wolf was roaming about in a field of grass where a flock of sheep came grazing everyday. He was hiding behind a bush. Getting a chance, he carried away a lamb to eat it at a safe place. Unfortunately, a lion came there, snatched the lamb and went to his den to eat it at leisure. When the lion had walked just a few steps away, the wolf said, "It is down daylight robbery- so unjust for a lion to snatch my morsel from me. It is below his dignity." Hearing the wolf's grumble, the lion laughed and replied, "A thief is questioning a robber- how strange! Did you get this lamb as a gift from a friend? You stole it out of a flock. Was that fair?" A sin is a sin- whether big or small. Moral of the story- A THIEF CAN'T QUESTION A ROBBER

On the way to the sun !

He had journeyed a long way, and was very tired. It seemed like a dream when he stood up after a sleep in the field , and looked over the wall, and saw the garden , and the flowers , and the children playing all about. He looked at the long road behind him, at the dark wood and the barren hills; it was the world to which he belonged. He looked at the garden before him, at the big house, and the terrace, and the steps that led down to the smooth lawn—it was the world which belonged to the children. "Poor boy," said the elder child, "I will get you something to eat." "But where did he come from?" the gardener asked. "We do not know," the child answered ; "but he is very hungry, and mother says we may give him some food." "I will take him some milk," said the little one; in one hand she carried a mug and with the other she pulled along her little broken cart. "But what is he called?" asked the garden...

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