Inspiration.

Many of you are friends with me on Facebook and have read this story, but here it is again for those who may have missed it..

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

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 an 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."

Wow, that's the only thing I had to say when I read this story. It is true on so many levels. So often I have found myself worrying about the little things in life that don't deserve so much time and stress. When life gets to be too much and you don't know what path to turn onto, what do you do? 

Everyone has that special thing they do: pray, sleep, cry, scream, write, etc. You get the point. Personally, when I'm drowning in the stresses of everyday life, I have a process I enjoy following. I usually start by watching the failure video. To those who have not watched it, take 2 minutes out of your day and watch "Famous Failures" on YouTube. You won't regret it, I promise. It reminds me that you have to get a taste of failure to know what success really is. Next, I find my happy place and just relax. I must say, it feels nice. The last thing I do is tell myself one thing.."Look how far you've come". So often, it's the other way around. We tend to look at how far we have to go rather than how far we have come since the beginning. 

Back to the golf balls. I feel so blessed that I am beginning to understand the important things in life so early. I feel lucky to know how to set my priorities to give myself a happy and full life instead of one filled with the meaningless, non-important things. I have found my center, made my family, future, friends, and health my main concerns. Since I started doing so, I have found that I am a happier person!!! If you haven't already, I recommend trying this. The results are phenomenal! :) 

"Do what you love; you'll be better at it. It sounds pretty simple, but you'd be surprised how many people don't get this one right away"