An old story, but a good one: A professor stood before his philosophy class with a bucket full of golf balls. He asked the students if the bucket was full, and they all agreed that it was. He then poured a box of pebbles into the bucket, and the pebbles naturally rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls. When he asked the students if the bucket was full, they again agreed that it was. The professor then poured a box of sand into the bucket. The sand filled up everything else, and all the students responded with an unanimous 'Yes!' when he asked again if the bucket was full. Finally, he poured two cups of tea into the bucket, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this bucket represents your life. The golf balls are the important things (God, health, friends, family, and favorite passions). They are the things that even if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles represent things like your job, house and car, and 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. So don't spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, or you will never have room for what's truly important. Set your priorities and take care of the golf balls first, everything else is just sand. But remember, no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a cup of tea with a friend. :)
Buddhist Boot Camp is here to encourage you to practice what you already know. The best things in life aren't things.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this bucket represents your life. The golf balls are the important things (God, health, friends, family, and favorite passions). They are the things that even if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles represent things like your job, house and car, and 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. So don't spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, or you will never have room for what's truly important. Set your priorities and take care of the golf balls first, everything else is just sand. But remember, no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a cup of tea with a friend. :)
Buddhist Boot Camp is here to encourage you to practice what you already know. The best things in life aren't things.
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