Philosophy and Golf Balls

[Q.]

Philosophy and Golf Balls

A professor stood before his Philosophy 101 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 golf balls. 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 golf balls. 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 them 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 partner, your health, your children,
your friends, your favorite 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,
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 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 check ups.
Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18. There will always be time
to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party 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 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!!

[Bill Hartman]

I must agree that taking care of your balls is the most important thing in life. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

(Uh, did I miss something in the story)

On a more serious note. Who thinks up those brilliant analogies anyway...perhaps I don't read enough bathroom poetry or something.

Great story by the way, Q.

Bill Hartman, teetering on the fine line between genius and insanity

[Q.]

Hope I put it in the correct forum!

By the way, your priorities seem right on to me!

Q

[gardener]

"Take care of the golf balls first - - the things that really matter. Set
your priorities. The rest is just sand."

So far so good (but it does get better!) Your philosophy professor's analogy gets at the fundamental distinction between a really full life and one that's simply busy (filled with sand or other stuff). What's going on here is something like the encounter of Socrates, who is about to be tried for impiety, and the young, self-important Euthyphro, who is about to bring charges against his own father for murder, because not bringing charges would amount to impiety. Socrates asks him, "then you know what piety is?" "Of course" is the reply. "If I did not know I would not be better than almost anyone else." And then the chase begins!

But Q, what's really marvelous in your fable is that if the professor had stopped with "the rest is just sand," he would have been preaching, not teaching. Preaching really doesn't do much good in this world, does it?

But. " It just goes to show you that no
matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of
beers!! "

This professor has a sense of humor, a lack of sel-importance. Bravo!