Thought you might like this bit of philosophy.

[Saintaw]

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a large
empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about
2" 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 students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured
it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now,"
said the professor, "I want you to recognise that this is 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, 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 time to get medical checkups. Take your
partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean
the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal." "Take care of the

rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The
rest is just sand."
But then...
A student then took the jar which the other students and the professor
agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a glass of beer. Of course
the beer filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar
truly full.
The moral of this tale is:
- that no matter how full your life is, there is always room for a BEER

[tofri at work]

I hardly can'T wait filling my life with a Paulaner  

tofri

[Boroda]

What if you fill the jar with beer first?...  

You still can put the rocks etc there - but the beer will spill  

[Yoj]

What kind of sick person would spill the beer?  No - you drink some and THEN put in the rocks  

- Yoj

[Boroda]

The problem is that it's hard to drink beer from a jar that's already filled with rocks, pebbles and sand  

And if you want to drink it - why pour it in the sand?

 

Wonder how far will we get with this metaphor  

[-sudz-]

Lots of room is available if you don't confine your life to a jar.

Analogies, proverbs, and metaphors are sometimes helpful - but they have their dangers too.  In this case 'your life' is a rigid, transparent, manufactured thing. The important things are variations of dead rock.

I think a better analogy (though it also has faults, maybe less) is that your life is a plot of land, the big things (rocks) are fruit trees, medium stuff (pebbles) are berry bushes, and small stuff (sand) is grass.  Then beer is the cuddly bunny that frolicks in the garden.  The wife would be the fox hunting the rabbit. The squirrel would be ...  ah, forget it.

-Sudz

[buhdman]

But the beer is soooo much better when you've gotten your rocks taken care of  

[Udie]

Ok let me see if I got this straight.

If I drink beer I can get my rocks off with Pebbles and give her my mayonaise?  


 Give me some BEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!


udie

[Animal]

My jar has always been full - with beer only.

Now that I think of it, I better go get a refill.