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Life Lesson Inside
A Glass Jar
Many years past, one of my college professors gave a demonstration on our final day of class that seems especially fitting to share during the graduation season.
I was reminded of Mr. Lloyd’s lecture, which had nothing to do with Speech 101, when a dear friend sent me a YouTube video by Meir Kay featuring a professor giving a nearly identical life lesson.
In my mind’s eye, the two professors are one and the same. And thus, since I do not remember Mr. Lloyd’s specific words well enough to quote at length, I shall lean on the video titled, “Amazingly Simple Theory for a Happy Life.”
The Professor enters the classroom, greets his students, and then displays a mason jar.
“We all have just one life to live,” he says, “a fleeting shadow amongst all that exists in this vast universe. We have the ability to accomplish anything, truly anything, if we use our time wisely.”
From his leather briefcase The Professor takes out a box of golf balls and feeds them into the jar until there is room for not one more.
“Is the jar full?” he asks and the students answer as one: “Yes.”
The Professor now adds pebbles which filter into the open spaces.
“Is it full now?” he asks and again the answer is, “Yes.”
The Professor pours in sand, shaking the jar so the grains settle into every nook and cranny, until it reaches the top.
“And how about now – is the jar full?”
“Yes,” more loudly this time.
Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, from his briefcase The Professor produces two bottles of beer. He opens one and pouring slowly fills the jar to the brim.
A quick aside. Mr. Lloyd, perhaps on account of us being at UC Santa Barbara, employed a beach theme by using smooth stones instead of golf balls; colorful sea glass instead of pebbles; sand of course, but ocean water instead of beer.
Also, my professor used two jars – one small, one large – because, he explained, lifetimes come in different sizes.
“Now, I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life,” The Professor on YouTube resumes. “Golf balls are the important things: your family, your friends, your health and your passions.
“The pebbles are the other important things: your job, your car, your home.
“The sand is everything else: just the small stuff. If you put the sand in the jar first, you won’t have room for the pebbles or the golf balls.”
Also, as Mr. Lloyd pointed out, if you put the sea glass in first you will not have enough room for all of the larger important stones.
“The same is true in life,” The Professor continues. “If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you won’t have time for all the really important things that matter to you.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first. Set your priorities because everything else is just sand.”
A student in the video raises his hand and asks: “Professor, what does the beer represent?”
“I’m glad you asked,” The Professor answers. “It goes to show that no matter how full your life may seem to be, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”
Mr. Lloyd, meanwhile, explained the ocean water’s metaphor as meaning there’s always time to go to the beach.
I think both professors are right: there’s always time to enjoy a beer at the beach with a friend.
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
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