Day: 26 September 2020

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are

not enough, remember the mayonnaise Jar…and the 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. So 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 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, your God, family, your children, your

health, your friends, and your 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,

your house, and your 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. Pay attention to the things that are critical to

your happiness. Play with your children. 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 friends.”

THE BAR

A tale is told about a small town that had historically been “dry,”

(no alcohol sold) but then a local businessman decided to build a

tavern. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned

and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene.

It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.

The owner of the bar sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were

responsible, but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible.

The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated that “No matter how this case comes

out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not.”

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge,

and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island

would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When

the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?”

Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here

for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!”

“I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh . Love, I am so sad that

I need to be by myself!” Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even

hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder.

So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were

going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way. Realizing

how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who

Helped me?”

“It was Time,” Knowledge answered.

“Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and

answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard.

She did not recognize them. She said “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry.

Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home?”, they asked.

“No,” she replied. “He’s out.”

“Then we cannot come in,” they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home,

she told him what had happened.

“Go tell them I am home and invite them in!”

The woman went out and invited the men in.

“We do not go into a House together,” they replied.

“Why is that?” she asked.

One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said

pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss

with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!,”

he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her

own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”

“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife.

“Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men,

“Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.”

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve

stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love,

there is also Wealth and Success!!!”

A wise woman who was traveling in the

mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler

who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry

traveler saw the precious stone & asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him

security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

“I’ve been thinking,” He said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that

you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled

you to give me the stone.”

There was a green and fresh pasture, in which three cows lived, a white cow, a black cow and a

reddish-brown one. The cows were kind to each other. They were nice to each other. They used to

graze in the meadow together. and they used to sleep near each other.

Till it happened one day, the reddish-brown colored lion of the forest happened to pass that way.

The lion was unhappy. It was hungry, and was looking for a prey. On catching sight of the cows it

became glad, but couldn’t attack them, because they were together. So, the lion sat in a corner and

waited till the cows would separate from each other.

The cows were together and wouldn’t part away from each other, because they knew that if they

were together, no predator could attack them. The lion lay in ambush nearby for two or three days.

But the cows continued to remain together, and wouldn’t separate from each other. The lion

became unhappy.

A plan occurred to it. It went towards the cows, greeted them

and said: “How are you my friends?” Are you fine? I have

been remembering you for a long time, but because I am too

busy, I can’t come to you and ask about your health.

Today I said to myself: “Anyhow I should come and see you

from near and visit you.” The reddish-brown cow said: “Sir,

your coming has really pleased us and brightened our pasture.”

The lion said: “I have always remembered you, and have even ordered a better pasture made ready

for you.” Reddish-brown cow said: “Sir, you have really obliged us and we are very thankful to you.”

Both the white and the black cows were troubled by what their friend, the reddish-brown cow said,

and were grieved at its thoughtlessness. They feared lest it should be deceived.

They said to each other: Which forest has not got a better pasture? Why does the reddish-brown

cow believe what the lion says? Doesn’t it know that lions seek other animals only to prey on them?

The reddish-brown cow became more and more a close friend of the lion each day.

The black cow and the white cow advised it as much as they could, but with no avail.

One day the lion said to the reddish-brown cow: “You know that the color of our bodies is dark

and that the color of the body of the white cow is light, and you also know that the light color is the

opposite of the dark color. It would be very good if I eat the white cow, so that there will be no

difference among us any longer and that we will be able to live together well.”

The reddish-brown cow accepted the saying of the selfish lion and started talking to the black cow

to keep it busy, so that the lion could eat the white cow with more ease. The white cow was left

alone and was killed, while the black and the reddish-brown cows were busy with idle talks.

Two or three days passed since the lion had devoured the white cow. The lion, angry and uneasy,

was lying in a corner, and the reddish-brown cow was moving around the lion and grazing. The lion

called the reddish-brown cow. The cow answered: “Yes sir!”

The lion said: “The color of my body and the color of your body are reddish-brown, and black does

not go with our color. It will be very good if I eat the black cow, so that in this forest we all will be

of the same color.” The reddish-brown cow accepted and moved away from the black cow.

The lion attacked and devoured the black cow, too. And as for the reddish-brown cow, it was so

filled with joy that it didn’t know what to do. It roamed and grazed and said to itself: “It is only

me who has the color of the lion…” A few days passed since the black cow had been devoured by

the lion. The lion roared and said. “O the reddish-brown cow! Where are you?”

The reddish-brown cow, shaking with fear, went forward and said: “Yes sir!” The lion said: “Today

it is your turn, get yourself ready, I am going to eat you.” The reddish-brown cow, with great fear &

horror said: “Why sir, I am your friend. I did whatever you said. So why do you want to eat me?”

The lion roared and said: “Friend of a friendless!” How is it possible that a lion makes friendship

with a cow? No matter how much the reddish-brown cow begged and entreated, the lion didn’t

accept its words. The lion attacked the cow.

The cow said: “Mr. Lion, please allow me to cry out three times before you eat me.” The lion said:

“Quickly, quickly!” The reddish-brown cow cried out: “I was eaten the very day the white cow was

eaten. I was eaten the very day the black cow was eaten. I was eaten the very day I made…. with

you.” The lion devoured the reddish-brown cow very quickly. Then it said to itself: “I have finished

my job in this forest. Now I had better go to other forests.” Divide and rule policy.