Golf balls, A Full Life And A Couple Of Beers

Prelude:

I am writing this post while not feeling well. Those of you who are my Facebook Fans probably know of some of my health issues. Let us just say that today has not been a good day and I currently am distracted by my difficulty in comfortably breathing right now. I mention this only because this post will be short and may contain grammatical errors. Please understand that this is not me.

Now let's get on with it. I was looking through some of the funny, sorrowful and unique stories I have on file and came across the following story filed away on my external hard drive. I posted it here only because of its relevance to my Blog post today.

The Wise Professor

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 a unanimous, “Yes”. The professor then produced two Beers 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. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn. 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 Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.”

I have enjoyed the frustrating and relaxing game of Golf for almost as long as I can remember. I didn't start playing the game until I was about eight. At least I learned how to swing the club then. I used to caddy for my Dad more than anything and later, I caddied for other golfers. I was always finding golf balls that had been lost or simply let lie because of such a bad shot. I'd pick them up and put them into a canvass bag I always kept for such a find. I'd clean all the found balls before taking them home to put into my gallon sized jar. It was one of those jars you used to see at the neighborhood store that contained pickled pigs feet, pickled eggs or pickled sausages. I kept only the good golf balls that looked new so that I could use them later as I couldn't afford to buy my golf supplies. I'd hit the scuffed ones or the ones with a slice on them into the woods behind my house as I practiced my swings with different clubs. I suppose I was an fair shot for my age.

As I got older, I hardly ever played golf. I had discovered girls! My golf stuff went by the way-side and I had placed my big jar full of golf balls on the pea-sized gravel next to the basement door outside. I hardly ever played in the yard after girls were discovered and it wasn't long before I'd forgotten about my golf balls altogether. One day one of my Mother's friends came to visit with her five-year-old boy. I was told that I would be the one to “entertain” and watch after the young boy while Mother's friend visited. You can imagine my enthusiasm at being given this task. I showed the youngster out to our back yard and started to try and interest him in some things I liked to do. I quickly discovered looking after him would be no easy task. He was all over the place throwing rocks and sticks, running and trying to climb trees. I couldn't keep up with him even in my youth. He found the jar and started to put some of the gravel into it. I kept my mouth closed because he found something to keep him busy for a while. I watched as he packed the jar as full as he could get it, shifting the golf balls and shaking the jar from time to time as he progressed. At last the jar was in fact full and he raced off to find something else to interest him. I figured I could empty the gravel out later and once again, forgot the jar where it sat.

Many years had passed and my parents had made the decision to sell the house I grew up in. They had moved into a house nearer a lake and only a few miles away from my Dad's business while I was still a Sophomore in High School. I had lived there for the last two-and-a-half years by myself and kept the house and lawn in good repair. (I kept the house full of girls and parties as well, but that's a whole novel all by itself so we'll just leave that subject alone! Sorry about my ellipsis. Allow me to continue.) As we began to pack things up, the jar of golf balls and pea-gravel was found to have sand from the bottom to the brim. The wind had blown the sand into the jar over a four year period and it had settled in between all the gravel and golf balls and was also water laden which made it very heavy. My Dad wanted to just throw it away but I insisted I was going to keep it. I packed it into my car as carefully as I could with the rest of the things which were important to me and which I didn't trust anyone else to move for me.

I came across this stupid jar again many years later and wondered why the hell I had kept this thing. Being somewhat of a ponderer, I began to hold the jar up turning it and studying it for some time. I remembered my Dad complaining about the jar I had “filled” with golf balls. I remember thinking that the jar was certainly “full” after our little visitor had “filled” it with all the gravel. It occurred to me while studying the jar, however, that it never was “full”. It wasn't full as I studied it. The water had long since evaporated and even if water were poured into the jar, it would hold a great deal of liquid and still, the jar would not be totally “full” ever! If you consider the microscopic and atomic levels, there are always places where more and more substance may occupy space. I'm sorry. That's just the way my thought process has always worked. The jar can never be “full”. This is why I saved the story about the wise Professor for so many years. It reminded me of my revelation regarding whether the jar could ever be really filled.

All of this brings me to a wonderful enlightened revelation. There is always some time for everything. Our chore has become making the decision to fill the empty spaces in our worldly time-line with the things that are important first, then the other big things and finally with all of the lessor things no matter how small they may seem. There will always be room for my Family. There will always be time to fix something or do the dishes. There's still time enough to write a new song, play another round of golf, go hiking, take a nap, read a book, or spend time with the kids, parents, or grandparents. With all the things going on in my life, I still have time to share a couple of bottles of beer with a friend. As the saying goes; “Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.” Enjoy a long life as full as you can make it because there are some folks who wish they could fill there lives a bit more. Like me.

I hope the year, 2013 will bring you many wonderful memories and few bad ones. I hope you will find your checking and savings accounts grow a little more than the years past. Most of all. I hope this coming year will bring you health and many more close friends with which you find pleasure in just spending time and sharing a couple of bottles of beer. I dare you to try to fill your jar this year.