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Take time for a glass of wine

LAW REVIEW, Jim Porter

I sift through a lot of e-mails on any given day. My spam protector isn’t doing its job. Usually when something is worth republishing, it gets sent to me by a few of my readers – which I appreciate. Here’s one of those Words of Wisdom pieces that are usually corny, but you may like this one. Maybe it’s just my age.

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A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly 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, of course, 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 picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.



He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and proceeded to pour 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 family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, 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, 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 your life. If you spend all of your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“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 dancing. Play another 18. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and wash the dishes.

“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 wine 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 glasses of wine!”

Jim Porter is an attorney with Porter-Simon, with offices in Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Reno. He is a mediator and was the governor’s appointee to the Bipartisan McPherson Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission. He may be reached at porter@portersimon.com or at the firm’s Web site http://www.portersimon.com.


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