What's most important to YOU?

I wanted my first story to be the one I have posted on my desk at home. The first time I read it, it struck a nerve...

Professor Jenkins stood in front of his class. Without saying a word, he placed a large, empty pickle jar on his desk.

As his students watched in fascination, he filled the jar to the top with rocks the size of golf balls. "Is it full?" he asked. "Yes," his students answered.

So he picked up a box of smaller pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook it lightly, and the pebbles rolled into the open spaces between the rocks.

"Is it full now?" he asked. "Yes!" the students shouted.

Then he picked up a box of sand and poured that into the jar. Of course the sand filled in everything else.

"Now," said Professor Jenkins, "I want you to see that this represents your life. The rocks are the important things---your family, your partner, your health and well-being, your children--anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be devastated.

"The pebbles are the other things in life that also matter, but on a smaller scale. These could be your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.

"Now, if you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there's no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on

the small stuff, you'll never have room for the things that are truly important.

"So, start with the bigger things. Look after your health. Grow as a person. Be the best you can be. Do the best you can. Then take care of those you

most care about and who most depend on you.

"You see, the things that really matter are the rocks. The rest is just pebbles and sand."

--Anonymous