The Mayonnaise Jar

I read it somewhere and thought of sharing it..

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar
And 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class And had some items in
front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large
And empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
If the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
The students again
If the jar was full..
They agreed it was..

The professor next picked up a box of sand And poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.
The students responded
With an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced
Two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
Into the jar, 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 jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health,
Friends, and Favorite passions -- 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, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first,"
He continued,
"there is no room for
The pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for 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.

So...

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 to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
To clean the house
And fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand
And inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked".

"It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

So do you want to have a cup of coffee with me, My friend ??

Should we or should we not ??

In the morning, Amy was entering the railway station, walking hurriedly to catch the 7:05 passenger train.A small child came to her, begging, one hand stretched in the hope of receiving something and the other, stroking his stomach to define hunger.
Many thoughts crossed her mind at that instant- the train, whether she would be able to catch it or not, whether she should give the child some money or the apple in her bag, but its his daily business, at this age he should study instead of earning...
Finally, she concentrated on catching the train.


On her way back home, outside the metro station, she again came across such a situation but this time with an old woman, with a skeletal frame, wearing a tattered saree. Her mind was again divided into two parts, fighting over whether to give or not, am i promoting begging.Why doesn't this auntyji do something to employ herself, why doesn't the govt give employment opportunities to physically fit beggars??
Finally, she passed by.


In the evening, as she went to the market, yet another woman carrying a child approached her.She thought in her mind, not again.The woman followed her to some distance, begging for the child and promising different kinds of good wishes- " beti, tujhe achha pati milega, tera ghar achha basega, bhai ki achhi naukri lagegi etc etc. "
Yet again, after millions of thoughts rushed through her mind, she passed by silently.
These scenes are an inevitable part of her daily commute and they somewhere made her feel inside that she has become such a stone-hearted person.




But there were other incidents that justified what she did.
She was once travelling with her cousins on a train.An old woman with a child, came begging. They thought it better to give her something to eat. They gave her some fruits and bread-jam. The moment she had her first bite, she started behaving weirdly, shouting loudly-pata nahin kya khila diya hamein... Creating a full drama for more than 20-25 minutes, refusing to go unless she was paid a good sum. Fellow-passengers gathered and settled the situation finally. That day she remembers, a harsh lesson learnt.


Another day, same commute. A woman not looking like a beggar came towards Amy and her friend, as they stood not very far from their office. This time the dialogues were new- "Beta mere 300 rupaye gum ho gaye hain, meri madad kar do, mujhe paise dedo"
Her friend, not new to such kind of robberies (asking for help and then snatching away the wallet and shoot like a cheetah), said- aunty paise toh hamein aapse maangne chahiye, student ki pocket mein toh hamesha hi kadki rehti hai ..etc etc. As he started his speech, the uninterested aunty walked away.  


These scenes somewhere made her feel inside that she should not be fooled by beggars.
Then why Amy's mind is still parts into two opposing pieces at the sight of people, specially children; poor deprived of food, cloth, shelter- the basics.
Should she give something or simply pass by? Should she give money or food? Are chocolates a good idea?

Does it apply to everyone?

If we were brought to trial for the crimes we have committed to ourselves, few would escape the gallows.

I am usually not into much of introspection, but this is something that made me rewind, observe and learn :)

New beginnings...

Bringing with it a fresh splash of hopes, resolutions and self-commitments...a sparkling New Year has arrived.
Having a look at the year that passed by...
At this time last year i was back from a cousin's wedding with my Maths exam the next day....a subject i considered more terrible and torturing than RGV movies.
We had an unforgettable tour with college friends that were and some that became...
I added to my experience many lessons....some little...some life-changing ones...
And the year ended with the best that i could have...and another joyous year has began with the best that i will have...
Now with every new year, come new resolutions, many(actually,most) of which are not met completely.
That is why once i gave up making resolutions, then breaking them and then feeling the ugly guilt for long.
But a nice saying came to my mind
"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream."
Only when one is clear of his dream...
Setting a goal...helps achieve some part of it atleast...


Anyway, its 12:27a.m. so i'll putdown the rest of my brain's output later.
Wishing that you all be blessed with a relaxed mind, a peaceful soul, a joyful spirit, a healthy body and a heart full of love.Have a great year ahead !!!


*Added later
So this year...the goal is to read all the books on my hitlist and experiment with new authors and genres (both in books and music) Also, to start gathering all info on psychology...my subject of interest since long. Apart from this, there is so much i wish to do and i believe i have all the energy to achieve it..all i need is to focus it in the right direction.zada future mein chale gye...ab padh b lena chahiye...aakhir semester finals hain :P     
    

Smell the Coffee

Hi all,I read this little story somewhere and found it worth sharing......so here it goes...
A group of young professionals thought of giving a pleasant visit to their former teacher.After greetings n all...were exchanged and general conversation was going on,the teacher observed that all of them...at some point or the other,complained of a stressful life.
He went up to his kitchen and made them coffee.He poured it in cups-some stylish expensive ones and some ordinary.As expected,most of them readily picked up the expensive ones,as everyone wants the best for him.
The teacher remarked-That's the problem,my friends.Your life is coffee,poured in cups of money,jobs and societal position.You should be concerned with coffee.But you are envying your cups which are just tools to hold it. So smell the coffee...take in its aroma...as Content Matters.Not the Container!

life these days

i had been planning as hell to write a post (same way as i plan daily to study...kal se pakka!)but time wouldn't let me.reminds me of the lyrics of purani jeans-vo karna planning roz nayi yaar...nice song.

Instead of time i shud have used the term-assignments...engineers ka aadha dimag assignments banane me hi jal jata hai aur baki ka aadha....mba k sapne lene mein...

Anyway,dint go to college today.was not feeling well.so,finally got a chance to post something.yay :) (getting ill was not that bad) Moreover,had a test today,that too my fav subjct IF...ok lets leev this part...(or my bro wud accuse me of takin a leave purposefully ;)

There are more reasons to b happy today...most imp one being that bhai came out as a university topper(now he has a reason to shout at me for not studin...n i may hav to hear that bhai-se-kuchh-seekho stuff) All cheerful scene at home.But we dint have that customary hindi movie scene:

"Maa main first class first pass ho gaya hu"    followed by the jug jug jiyo beta

"Khade khade muh kya dekh rahe ho, jaao, ab to sab ka muh meetha karna hai."
"Parameswar ki kripa hai, masterjee"

here's a dose of typical filmy masala with south-indian chutney....watch till d end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfR3N-HB4i4

(aaargghhh...uploading here takes lots of time)

Heard that really-breaking news about Giancarlo Fisichella finally givin Force India their first ever points in Formula 1 on their 30th attempt ??

jhatka!!! i know...sabko laga tha..most people dint even know that india had a F1 team!

I wish i had a 'real' money plant in my backyard coz m planning to buy this.again planning:D but things are deceiving sometimes.

i realised very early that putting a calvin-n-hobbes strip in every post is not gonna make it intersting...so m on the hunt for more masala and more audience as the blog is in its formative years rite now...

right now m reading sonal kalra's sunday column in ht...i find her article calming yet amusing...kya likhti hai boss...every1 relates to it.

And 'kite runner' is my nxt target

And today is Gurupurab( Guru granth sahib's ).Wish u all a very happy gurupurab :)

n belated happy Ganesh chaturthi too.