Pebbles

(Clearwisdom.net)

A professor in a time management class laid a can on the table and filled it with pebbles. Then he took out a bag of small gravel and poured it into the can, shook it gently, and poured in a bit more. Then he took out a bag of sand and poured it into the can slowly. Finally he took out a big bottle of water and poured it into the can, which appeared already filled with pebbles, gravels, and the sand.

After he finished, the professor asked the students: "What message did we get from this?" A student replied: "No matter how busy we are, we can always squeeze some time out to do more."

The professor said, "That is a good answer. But the most important message that I was trying to convey was that if you do not put the bigger pebbles in first, you may never be able to do it later."

Have you ever deliberated about what the pebbles are in your life? Perhaps before going to bed tonight, or when we are quietly alone, we should all think about "what are the pebbles in our lives?" Today's education only teaches us how to get good grades and go to good schools, but it seldom teaches us how to be a truly happy person living a worthwhile life.

In other words, we are very good at putting gravel, sand and water into the can, but few realize the importance of putting the "pebbles" in first.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/9/21/36905.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version