The Jam Jar and Coffee

A professor stood before his class, picked up a large jam jar, and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They said it was.
Then the professor picked up a box of pebbles, poured them into the jar, and shook the jar gently.  The pebbles rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls.  He asked again if the students thought the jar was full.  Again they said it was.
Next the professor emptied a box of sand into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up all the empty spaces, and the students all agreed that it was now definitely full.
When the professor poured 2 cups of coffe into the jar, wetting the sand, and not overflowing, the students laughed.
The professor then explained the meaning of the jam jar.
"The golf balls are the important things - your family, your health, your friends, your favourite passions - 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, and your car.
"The sand is everything else - the small stuff.  If you put the sand in first, 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."
One of the students raised her hand, and enquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled.  "I'm glad you asked.  It just goes to show that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Progress

Progress has it's drawbacks.  You can't warm your feet on a microwave oven!

More effort is put into helping people reach old age than into helping them enjoy it when they get there.

I have no idea what this tree is, and I've only ever seen it once.

It's growing at the Nornalup Teahouse in Western Australia. 

This is another view of the Nornalup flowers

Some more of my "published works"

Master eight was playing with globes and batteries, and apparently decided the power point would lend assistance.  He received quite a shock.  After he'd calmed down, I asked him what the shock had felt like.  He replied:  "I felt just like a crinkle-cut chip".

When my teenage daughter asked me to cut a couple of centimetres off her hair, my son said with concern:  "You'd better be careful.  Mum's not metric".

My husband was planning to watch a movie on his small TV.  When he found out the movie was in black and white, he decided against it - even though his TV set was not colour.

Some people hear voices.  Some see invisible people.

Others have no imagination whatsoever.