Rocks or sand?
I've just come across the following, and think it's wonderful!
A philosophy professor stood before his 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 proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes". The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their 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 rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that 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, 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 rocks. The same goes for your 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 partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the tap".
"Take care of the rocks 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 beer 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 beers."
A philosophy professor stood before his 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 proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes". The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their 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 rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that 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, 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 rocks. The same goes for your 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 partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the tap".
"Take care of the rocks 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 beer 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 beers."
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optimistic
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Spin...
Seeing as I mentioned politics earlier, I was really narked when I read this last week...
They quote a Downing Street spokesman as saying "Alastair (Campbell) is on excellent terms with the head of the Secret Intelligence Service."
What I'd really like to know is why an unelected and unaccountable party official is on any sort of terms with the head of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Just who are these "special advisers" that our current Government seems to depend upon so much anyway? Why does Blair need a "director of communications" when he has the civil service and a legion of MPs at his disposal?
They quote a Downing Street spokesman as saying "Alastair (Campbell) is on excellent terms with the head of the Secret Intelligence Service."
What I'd really like to know is why an unelected and unaccountable party official is on any sort of terms with the head of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Just who are these "special advisers" that our current Government seems to depend upon so much anyway? Why does Blair need a "director of communications" when he has the civil service and a legion of MPs at his disposal?
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grumpy
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Well, here I am...
Everyone keeps telling me that blogging is the "in thing", so here I am, wondering whether I'll ever get the time to keep this up-to-date, or whether I'll just get bored of it in a couple of weeks.
Some people may remember this handle from the ancient UNaXcess bulletin board at Bradford University back around 1990, but these days I'm the one that
zorac calls "The Boss". UNaXcess used to be the major hangout for the UK student geek community, probably the most famous member being Linux guru Alan Cox.
I've been around on the 'net since about 1991, and before that used to hang around "listserv"s and Usenet (when news articles were mostly exchanged over UUCP instead of NNTP) because back then there wasn't any access to "the Internet" unless you were at one of the few UK sites connected to Arpanet et al before JANET became an IP network.
For what it's worth, my politics are mostly blue, with a little bit of yellow but definitely no red (with apologies to anyone outside the UK to whom that means nothing). Don't ever get me started on religion...
Some people may remember this handle from the ancient UNaXcess bulletin board at Bradford University back around 1990, but these days I'm the one that
zorac calls "The Boss". UNaXcess used to be the major hangout for the UK student geek community, probably the most famous member being Linux guru Alan Cox.I've been around on the 'net since about 1991, and before that used to hang around "listserv"s and Usenet (when news articles were mostly exchanged over UUCP instead of NNTP) because back then there wasn't any access to "the Internet" unless you were at one of the few UK sites connected to Arpanet et al before JANET became an IP network.
For what it's worth, my politics are mostly blue, with a little bit of yellow but definitely no red (with apologies to anyone outside the UK to whom that means nothing). Don't ever get me started on religion...
