Elizabeth August 17th, 2009

Photo from effexis.com

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, 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 into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. 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. “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 – 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, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. 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 checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.”

“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Has anyone else noticed 2009 kicking them square in the butt?

I feel as though I have existed in a perpetual state of “I can’t believe it’s [current month] already” this year. Time is getting away from me, and all the things I intended to do this year have been put on indefinite hold while I get on with real-life stuff.

Where’s the fun in that? It’s exhausting, and the pay-off isn’t there.

My reaction to this pressure has been to indulge in some self-reflection over the past week. I’ve been desperately craving a few hours of “pause” in which to clear the fog of the daily grind and figure out the important stuff again. I’m yet to actually find that space for myself, but it’s just around the corner. I feel a strong need to simplify and to stop sweating the small stuff.

There are a few big things happening around me right now that are beyond my control. It feels good to say that, and to let go of that nagging feeling of responsibility I feel towards them. Instead, my plan for this week is to concentrate on improving aspects of my life that I can control, and to throw myself into them with gusto.

So the plan for this week is as follows:

- To use my time at work well, so that I can purge it from my brain at precisely 4.30pm
- To go for at least one long walk, with a great soundtrack on my ipod
- To dust the cobwebs from my paper journal, and preserve some little details from this time in my life
- To write a couple of blog posts about my fabulous trip away earlier this month
- To beautify one room in my house

Perhaps I will end this week just as exhausted as ever, but I’ll also end it feeling fulfilled and happy. I just needed this little reminder that my happiness is in my own hands, and that life will carry on around it.

• Life
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