The Mayonnaise Jar and two Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full The students responded with an unanimous "yes". The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and 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 and 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 golf balls. The same goes for 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 spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand". One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

See the greek “equal” here:

http://eaglestefanos.blogspot.com/2007/12/blog-post_29.html

The carrot, the egg and the coffee bean / Positive thinking

Put three pots of water over the fire. In the first pot, put some carrots. In the second pot, put some eggs. In the third pot, put some coffee beans that have been grounded into coffee powder. Boil all three pots for 15 minutes. Take out what you put in. The carrots went in hard. They are now soft. The eggs went in soft inside. Now they are hard inside. The coffee powder has disappeared. But the water has the colour and the wonderful smell of coffee.

Now think about life. Life is not always easy. Life is not always comfortable. Sometimes life is very hard. Things don’t happen like we wish. People don’t treat us like we hope. We work very hard but get few results. What happens when we face difficulties?

Now think about the pots. The boiling water is like the problems of life.

We can be like the carrots. We go in tough and strong. We come out soft and weak. We get very tired. We lose hope. We give up. There is no more fighting spirit. Don’t be like the carrots!

We can be like the eggs. We start with a soft and sensitive heart. We end up very hard and unfeeling inside. We hate others. We don’t like ourselves. We become hard-hearted. There is no warm feeling, only bitterness. Don’t be like the eggs!

We can be like the coffee beans. The water does not change the coffee powder. The coffee powder changes the water! The water has become different because of the coffee powder. See it. Smell it. Drink it. The hotter the water, the better the taste. We can be like the coffee beans.

We make something good from the difficulties we face. We learn new things. We have new knowledge, new skills, new abilities. We grow in experience. We make the world around us better. To succeed, we must try… and try again. We must believe in what we are doing. We must not give up. We must be patient. We must keep pushing. Problems and difficulties give us the chance to become stronger… and better… and tougher. What are we like when things do not go well?

Are we like the carrot… or the egg… or the coffee bean?

Be like the coffee bean!

See also, in greek: http://eaglestefanos.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post.html

«The deaf frog»

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.... The race began.... Honestly: No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower ! You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!!" "They will NEVER make it to the top." or: "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!" The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one.... Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.... The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!" More tiny frogs got tired and gave up.... But ONE continued higher and higher and higher.... This one wouldn't give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal? It turned out.... That the winner was DEAF!!!! The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic.... because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power words have because everything you hear and read will affect your actions in one way or another! Therefore: ALWAYS be.... POSITIVE! And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!

Greek translation, here:

http://eaglestefanos.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post_08.html