Skip to main content

Golf Balls, Pebbles, and Sand

I am always amazed at the little things you can learn through object lessons and movies. A doctor once told me that I'm a stressed individual. I would say, that's about right. I stress about everything and worry about everything. I saw this little object lesson on a video that was circulating through Facebook. I'll summarize:

A professor took out a jar and filled it with golf balls. He turned to his class and asked, "is the jar full?" He received a resounding, "YES!" He then took out some pebbles and poured them into the jar. The pebbles filled in the gaps and cracks left by the larger golf balls. "Now is the jar full?" "YES!" exclaimed his students. Then he took out sand and proceeded to pour it into the jar. The sand filled the even smaller gaps between the pebbles. He turned to the class, "now is the jar full?" "YES!" Finally, he took out two beers and poured them into the jar. The class was amazed that so much stuff fit. "Now the jar is full," stated the professor.

He continues to explain his object lesson. The golf balls are the most important things in our lives (i.e. family, children, health). The pebbles are the other important things in life (i.e. job, house, car, bills), the sand is everything else...the small stuff. He continues to explain how if you put the sand in first, there isn't room for the golf balls. At the end of the lesson, a student asks, "Professor, what was with the beers?" as his classmates laugh. The professor smiled and responded, "it doesn't matter how full your life seems at times, there is always room for a few beers with your friends."

The video ended and I sat back in my chair thinking, "hmmmmmm." That lesson is so applicable in my own life. My life is full. I spend FAR too much time worrying about the sand in my jar. So I'm going to try to worry less about the sand and more about the golf balls and pebbles in my life.

Over the weekend, Suzie encouraged me to go out with some friends and go shooting. Shooting is one of my passions and hobbies. I was able to get to the range with a few friends for a few hours. It was nice to relax, talk guns, be around other adult males, and just enjoy some good range time. I see how important it is to make time for your friends.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” -Albert Einstein

Some of the things the kids do just frustrate me...but it's all part of their development. I can either encourage positive growth or I can be negative and focus on the terrible. Life is a miracle. Everything that has happened in my life is a miracle. Where I am now, living in Idaho Falls, owning my house, having a secure full-time job, having a loving wife, and three kids is just a miracle. It seems more than I deserve at times. But I've decided to live life as if everything is a miracle rather than nothing. Looking for that silver lining in all things isn't easy, but already this morning, I have felt a difference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seeing the Whole Deck

I was in the middle of a classic doom scroll when I stopped on a video that opened with  “Depression is a lie.” I remember thinking,  Okay… bold claim. You’ve got my attention. Instead of spiraling into platitudes, the guy explained his point using a simple magic trick. A deck of cards. Nothing fancy. So let’s put ourselves there. I’m standing in front of you, holding a plain deck of cards. I show you the top card — it’s face down. You can clearly see that. Based on everything you know about how card decks work, you naturally assume the other 51 cards are face down too. You don’t question it. Why would you? You’ve seen enough to fill in the rest. And that’s the point. While I’m talking, while I’m asking you to pick  any  card, I casually flip the deck in my hands. You don’t notice. There’s no reason to. I fan the cards out and every single one you see appears face down. You choose a card from somewhere in the middle — because of course that feels more random — and yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Right Swipe, Right Time.

As summer winds down, I find myself reflecting a bit. The last few years have been chaotic—leaving administration, finishing up at my old school, moving to a new one, frantically setting up a classroom, learning curriculum, just trying to get my footing—and before I knew it, summer was gone. But this year felt different. I officially survived 6th grade…again. Teachers get out about two weeks earlier than administrators, so when I checked out in early June—bam—it actually felt like summer this time. On top of that, Amanda and I moved in together back in February. Looking back at our timeline, it’s easy to see how some might say things moved fast. Maybe they did. But here’s the thing—I’ve learned to speak my truth a little louder. And the truth is simple: I don’t care what anyone thinks about the speed of it. We’re in our 40s. We know what we want. I’m happy. Freaking happy. I don’t think I’ve ever written out the saga of how I met Amanda. So here goes: It was not a dark and stormy night...
Post a Comment
Read more

Single Parenting: Surviving Sadness to Finding Silver Linings

  It’s funny how things work themselves out in life. It’s been about two years now since I’ve been truly living the single parent life. How I would love to talk to myself back then…I would have some words of wisdom. I believe that I struggled with a common obstacle many parents do at that point in the journey. Two years ago, I was stuck . I was stuck in a never-ending cycle of sadness when my three kids, Kayden, Rose, and Nari, were with their mom. Truly, I believed that is what you’re supposed to feel. Sadness that your kids are not with you. Over the past two years, a new clarity has come and I’d like to share it with all of my faithful and loyal readers…all 8 of you (that may be erroring on the high side). Dearest Gentle Reader… no that’s not right. Four score and seven years ago…hum. It was a dark and stormy night…nope. Okay, I’ll just be original. I left off with the statement that 2 years ago, I was stuck. Like stuck stuck. In the mud stuck. Frozen in ice, feet in concrete, d...
Post a Comment
Read more