I couldn’t have been much older than 12 when I first heard the following analogy during a presentation at church.
The presenter showed us a glass jar and told us it represented our lives.
He then proceeded to put rocks inside and then asked us if the jar was full. It looked full. But then he took a bag of sand and poured it into the jar until it filled all the small spaces between the rocks. Now it was full.
With a second jar he poured the sand into it first and asked if there was room in the jar to fit the rocks. The answer was an obvious no.
Putting the sand first meant there was no room for the rocks inside the jar.
The point he was trying to teach us was that in life there are only a handful of really important things (the rocks) and almost infinite lesser important things (the sand) and that the order in which we place them into our lives (the jar) makes a big difference.
We’re all tempted to fill our lives with the sand of pleasure, entertainment and the tasks of daily living. Ironically it can be the small things in our lives that seem to scream loudest for, and demand our attention most.
But like the analogy demonstrates, when we fill our lives with sand, we leave no room for the things that matter most. If you’re like me, you have asked what does matter most?
I am no authority to say what is or is not most important for each person, but it has been my experience and my observation that religious practice, our relationships, and our physical and mental wellness ought to be included in any list of most important things.
Conversely there are almost infinite lesser important things, so many that it would be impossible to list them.
When we put first things first we sooner or later discover that life becomes much sweeter. So many things in life are good, fun and enjoyable but only a few things truly matter.
If we want to create a world that feels more like heaven for everyone, including ourselves, we need to look at the jar of our lives and assess if we need to adjust the way we are filling it.
Most of us already know what we need to change or adjust, so we needn’t go around pointing out the issues with another’s jar. Instead we should encourage and support others when they are trying.
I hope this helps make life sweeter. If it did, please share it with someone else.
All the best,
Matthew
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