An Irish Blessing

An Irish Blessing

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of
him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" in
diameter. 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 in to
the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles,of course, rolled into the
open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students
again if the jar was full? They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then
picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand
filled up every-thing else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life.
The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health,
your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost,
you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that
matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job,
house, or car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff."

"If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for
the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time
on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things
that are truly most important."

1. ****** Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life.
2. ****** Play with your children.
3. ****** Take time to get medical checkups.
4. ****** Take your partner out dancing.
5. ****** There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a
6. dinner party and fix the disposal.
7. ****** Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter.
8. ****** Set your priorities, the rest is just pebbles and sand.
9. ****** May there always be work for your hands to do;
10. ****** May your purse always hold a coin or two;
11. ****** May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
12. ****** May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
13. ****** May the hand of a friend always be near you;