The Life Jar
The Life Jar
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A5
Limited edition of 30
The Life Jar
A philosophy professor stood before his students in the lecture hall. On the table in front of him he had a glass jar. He started filling up the jar with big rocks. When they reached the top of the jar, he held it up to the students and asked them if the jar was full. The students nodded and agreed that yes, the jar was full. There was no more room to put any more rocks in. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and proceeded to pour them into the jar. He shook the jar, and the pebbles filled all the spaces between the rocks. “Is the jar full now?” he asked the students. They were unsure but said yes, the jar was full. “Really?” he asked. The professor then picked up a box of sand. He poured the sand between the rocks and the pebbles and shook the jar so it filled up all the remaining spaces. Once again, he held up the jar and asked if it was full. The professor went on to explain that the jar represents your time on earth, or you can think of it as a day, a month or a year. It is a set size and has a limited capacity. The rocks are the most important things in your life. Things like your health, your family and friends and your passions. They are the big things that money can’t buy. If everything else was lost then your life would still be full and have meaning with these things. The pebbles are the things that matter and are necessary but that you could live without. The sand is just the small stuff. If instead of putting the rocks in first you started with the sand you’d soon find you don’t have room for the rocks.