THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND COFFEE

I thought I would share this with you. Although I have read it many times, it is an interesting and encouraging thing to read :)

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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.

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 infamous "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 family, your children, your faith, 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. 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 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 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."

Endurance

Definitions of endurance on the Web:

1)the power to withstand hardship or stress; "the marathon tests a runner's endurance"
survival: a state of surviving; remaining alive
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

2)Endurance is the act of sustaining prolonged stressful effort.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance

In one of my recent discussions with a dear friend of mine, I related the story that taught me the true meaning of endurance. Read and use as food for thought:

I am an avid enthusiast of go-karting. To those of you, who are not familiar with it, it is basically a small frame of a vehicle, running on one or two engines, capable of reaching very high speeds. Basically, it is a safer and cost-effective alternative to racing with cars. During my university years (not long ago!), I was part of many teams that participated in different races. The most exciting of these races, is the 24 hours endurance race.

Yes, 24 hours straight! You get to be part of a team, that runs around a circuit for 24 hours, changing drivers when the need to refuel or to have a mechanical check, comes. This race tests your strategy, your skills, your team work and more importantly, the level of endurance.

To me at the beginning of my karting experience, it was a game of pure speed. I would kill myself to reach the highest speed, and beat all. I started becoming good during the small races, mainly because of my weight loss (big factor) and skill level that kept increasing with every week of experience. That also taught me that strategy is important, which I started becoming good at.

However, when the first time came for me to drive in the 24 hr race, I made the terrible mistake of nearly-wrecking the kart a million times! I was called off. I went back home feeling miserable. The second time was even worse, and I started feeling that no way I would ever become good enough to race again.

My third chance was presented to me, and I felt terrified. What if I let my team down again? What if I continue to crash the kart? In this race, you have only ONE kart during the whole 24 hours: This means if we wreck the kart, we are out. Then I heard the comment that changed my perspective about this race.

My friend came and told me: “Endurance race is not about who achieves the highest speed. It is about the driver who is in control of his kart … who knows the ins and outs of the kart … who makes sure that the kart lasts 24 hours without the need to go for a mechanical check, and yet maintains his speed and strategy. You are alone in that race, there is no one else racing but yourself”

To me that sounded like gibberish, but then I thought about it. The kart is very delicate. If I hit something, then definitely a part of the kart will need repair. This means that I will have to wait while the mechanics fixes it, while my opponents are creating more distance between me and them. Then I realized, it is not only about who is fastest! It is also about the driver who is able to “endure” the race … because if you endure the race – you are a winner!

Many times in our lives, we find ourselves in the racing circuit … being in conditions that we hate, but that we are forced to go through. We know the end of the story, that whoever completes the circuit wins. However, it is not about who is fastest, but it is about who endures the race. If we hit a barrier, and do not get up, then we already lost the race. We are alone in our little races, but we know that we need to learn, not only to be skillful and fast … but also how to endure.

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory."
William Barclay

The Man Who Sold The World

The Man Who Sold The World
We passed upon the stair, we spoke in was and when
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago

(CHORUS 1)
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home
I searched for form and land, years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazley stare, we walked a millions hills
I must have died alone, a long long time ago

Who knows not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

CHORUS 1

SOLO