Mayonnaise jar and 2 beers

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 beers.

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 Beers 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. Spend time 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 ball 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 and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'

Please share this with someone you care about... I JUST DID.

Technology advancements - a blessing or means to a curse?

To follow up on "Social networkers, beware", here's a tale of teenagers in separate incidences who are in trouble at school, and some with the law, for sending inappropriate images of themselves, by email and cell phone. The charges for one girl could include her having to register as a sexual offender - that's a lifetime stigma. And once you are on the a sex offender list, the reason why you had to initially register becomes lost. You are just a sex offender with the restrictions and discriminations associated with it. But, more in line with my earlier Beware post, you just don't know where these images may end up... once you send those things to other folks, you lose control of the images of yourself. The ABC news article discusses a boy who posted nude or nearly nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend online. I bet that wasn't what she had planned when she sent them to him - but that was before she broke up with him of course.

But I may be wrong, it may not be that these young people don't understand the possible repercussions, it might be that they just don't care. Should they care?

Means to a curse? Check out this article about how false and/or expunged convictions are making their way into background checks and spoiling people's chances at housing and employment. Database sharing and mining is causing information that has once been removed to pop up again, and it's ruining some people's lives.

Tuition help please

Max Stephenson says he is soliciting money, through email, to help pay some of his $50,000 per year tuition. Is this for real or a scam? Has he been successful? To see if his email plan is legit and whether or not it's working click here.