The important things in life

 

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table 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 rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
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, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
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 the remaining open areas of the jar.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – 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 rocks. The same goes for your 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 your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.”
“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Author Unknown

Be Kind

Three things in Human Life Are important;

The first is to be kind.

The second is to be kind.

The third is to be kind.

 

Mother Teresa



What you were meant to do.....

YOU CAN DO IT!

"Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny".

David O. McKay

Ready to take the next step? The Power of positive thinking - Believe in Yourself and in your abilities. If you truly desire to live your dreams you need to take stock of your worth. Maybe you will realize your dreams are not as big as they should be!

Once you are sure that your dreams are in harmony with your worth and your deepest convictions, you need to talk your dreams into reality. It's all up to YOU. YOU are in charge of your destiny. YOU CAN do it

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK.

If you think you are beaten you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you want to win but think you can't;
It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose you're lost;
For out of the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will;
It's all in a state of mind.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Author Unknown

Listening

Listening - at Christmas and always
A few years after I left my secondary school in Manchester, I was invited to help out with the school's Christmas Fair and I decided to have a go at being Father Christmas. I had recently grown my first full beard and thought that I would enter into the role by rubbing flour into my growth. Though I say it myself, I looked rather splendid and certainly I attracted lots of custom. I was enjoying myself enormously, bringing a sense of magic to so many young children, but I was mystified by one young boy who paid for a second visit and then astonishingly for a third. The presents on offer were really pretty pitiful, so I asked him why he was coming to see me so often. He answered simply: "I just love talking to you".  It was then that I realised that, in many households, parents do not encourage their children to talk and really listen to them. This was a lesson that I have taken with me throughout my life. So, at home, at work, socially, always encourage family, friends, colleagues to talk about themselves and their feelings - and really listen.

Author: Roger Darlington

The carrot, the egg and the coffee bean

The carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"  "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"  Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?


story from http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk

Looking out for Others

Philippians 2:4 - Look out for Others Interests

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

The beauty of nature.........

 

HUG TIME

 

I'M POSSIBLE!!!!

Everyone is important!!!!!

Everyone is important

During Mark's first month of college, the professor gave his students a pop quiz. He was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until he read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. He had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would he know her name? He handed in his paper, leaving the last question blank.  Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward the quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They each deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'". Mark never forgot that lesson. He also learned her name was Dorothy.


story from:  www.rogerdarlington.me.uk

Moments

ALWAYS

I want you to remember!!

When the world brings you down
And hurtful words break your heart
Don’t turn around
And walk away from who you are

Stand up for your beliefs
Trust in what you know
In yourself you’ll find strength
Not in another soul

 

Life is full of chances
Some you’ll surely take
Though from some you’ll learn a lesson
And those we call mistakes

 

Just because someone tells you
That it can’t be done
Doesn’t mean you must adhere
Or that you should give up

 

What I want you to remember
And hold close to your heart
Is that you can do anything
If only you try
It doesn’t matter who you are

 

poem from:  thepoetrypad.com

Keep Aiming!!

HUMBLE

Success

Act Justly - Love Mercy and Walk Humbly

Micah 6:8

New International Version (NIV)

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

“Act justly”  living with a sense of right and wrong. 

“Love mercy”    God expected His people to show love to their fellow man and to be loyal in their love toward Him, just as He had been loyal to them 

“Walk humbly” Instead of taking pride in what we bring to God, we humbly recognize that no amount of personal sacrifice can replace a heart committed to justice and love.

The response of a godly heart is outward (do justice), inward (love mercy), and upward (walk humbly).

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Forgiveness

“The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional

 maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should 

aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to 

apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that

could not be solved among people who possessed the 

humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either -- or 

both -- when needed?” 


― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 

Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes