Category: philosophy/religion topics
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee
When things in your life 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---God, 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. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. 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 another friend."
I love stuff like that, and so true too. Well done for posting that. Cheers, Simon
And of course, the fallacy that the professor has demonstrated is his presumption, rather, his comparison of a jar to someone’s life. As we know, a jar is an object that is fixed in shape and size. A jar cannot be expanded to allow more space nor can it transform its shape in order to accommodate odd-shaped object. Is it the professor’s contention that a person’s life has a fixed capacity? I hope not! A person’s life is more like, oh, say, an unbreakable balloon. Though a person may start out with a balloon full of sand, he or she can always expand the balloon to allow golf balls. Of course, the professor is assuming that the said person cares for golf balls at all. And oh, by the way, I am insulted that a philosophy professor thinks that small things in life are not important. Hmmm, if I am not mistaken, Sir Isaac Newton didn’t come up with (golf ball sized theory of gravity out of thin air. In fact, it was the (sand sized) falling of an apple that helped him in developing the theory of gravity. But then again, this philosophy professor must be from the age of plastic; after all, who cares that you haven’t got a penny to your name when you can charge your outrageous doctor’s bill on plastic card?
Well said, no philosophy professor, except may be on avangelist tv would ever have done a demonstration like that. And it appears this is encouraging you to go out and spend money rather than meet your financial obligations. It encourages lack of responsibility and is just another proof of the consumerism that sweeps the country where one spends way above one's means. You should only have as much fun as you can afford and cook at home if you can't afford to take your family out.
Just spending money won't make you happy and will, in fact, make you very unhappy if you don't have it.
So, great feel good type of stuff and some of it is certainly true, important things and all that, but some of it is tosh and attributing it to a philosophy prof is certainly not true, though amusing, obviously someone who has not taken the subject.
I agree with the last two statements that were just given. I agree that the big things in life count, but what about the small stuff like the sand and the pebbles in your life? I truly think that everything counts in your life. However, yes you have to prioritize, but I still think everything counts. This professor somewhat doesn't know what he's talking about, some of which don't make sense to me, or rather shouldn't have been in there, seeing as it was foolish to do so.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Macy
I like this parablel. Yes, the golf balls is important. Life by those golf balls, and if you have time use the sand.