Rocks of Life

A teacher stood in front of his class …

There are some items in front of him.

In silence, he picked up a large, empty jar…proceeded to fill it with rocks to the top. He asked pupils if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

Teacher proceeded then to put smaller pebbles into the jar. He shook the jar…pebbles rolled into open spaces between rocks. Pupils smiled, some laughed. The teacher again asked if the jar was full. Pupils agreed, yes it really was full this time. The teacher proceeded to pour sand into jar…which of course trickled through the rocks and pebbles and filled up everywhere else.

‘Now!’ said the Teacher. ‘I want you to imagine & recognise that this is YOUR LIFE’.

Moral of the story:

The rocks are the IMPORTANT things in your life…faith, family, health, education, friends, your partner, children,… those things that are SO important to you that, if they were lost, you would be nearly destroyed, heartbroken, painfully unhappy, unable to move on in life….deep emotional trauma.

The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale….they represent things like your job, house, car, pets, holidays.

The sand is everything else in your life…’the small stuff’…computer, mobile phone, shoes, clothes, i-pad, television, street-cred, dance moves.

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

So...pay attention to the things that are critical in and to your life. Stay healthy…have checkups…eat sensibly….exercise. Play with your children…takes time to read to them at bedtime. Enjoy your family…spend time with them…don’t take them or your friends for granted. There will always be time for Allah, work, family and friends, to surf the net, phone the insurance company, spring clean the house, get to know the people around you, and watch TV.