Daily Parable: A Professor Stands before His Philosophy Class

Professor Leon Green is passionate about his subject, Philosophy, and loves imparting life's knowledge every time he steps in front of his students in class.

One day when he stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class started, he picked up a big and empty mayonnaise jar without saying a word and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. Professor Green then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar swiftly, and the pebbles rolled out in the open between the golf balls. Once again, he asked his students if the jar was full, and they gave the same answer.

For his next demo, he picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up the whole jar, and he asked once more if it was full.

The students, in unison, agreed the jar was full. Professor Green then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar.

He essentially filled the empty space between the sand, and the student burst into laughter. Seeing that he wanted to capture back their attention, he told them a bit about the exercise.

"Now," he said as the student quieted down. "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important fillings, your God, family, children, health, friends, and YOUR favorite passions fillings that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."

He then gave an example of what the pebbles represent and said, "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car."

Professor Green explained to his students that the sand is everything else, the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls."

The same notion applies to your life. If you spend all your energy on the little things, you will never have room for things that matter the most.

It would help if you started paying more attention to the things that make you happy. These could include playing with your kids, which means you would be taking care of the golf balls first, the things that matter.

By doing this, you set your priorities, and the rest is just sand. One of the students raised his hand and asked what the coffee represented.

Professor Green was glad he asked that question and said, “It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with friends.

If you enjoyed this parable, read another story whereby a student asked a teacher a question about love in class.