The Mayonnaise Jar & 2 Cups of Coffee

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

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large, empty mayonnaise jar and started 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 those into the jar, shaking 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 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 -- God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and 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. So... 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 to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

"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."

-- author unknown

(submitted by Andy Feigin)

Keeping Dialogue spirit alive

I'm wanting to do a better job of this than I have done in the past, so I've shared the Life Map with my officemates. They were interested, so we will take some time in the near future to work through it. I'm using the star and swoosh tonight with a student group I am advising on a PR project, and I created a desk-sized, mini, White Stallion Ranch on my desktop.

That is to say, on the top of my desk.

My rock from the desert walk, some stone from the paths at WRS, and a white plastic horse who signed a long-term contract to gallop and whinny.

Dialogue 112 Blog - Connections

Somewhere beneath the morning star
We gathered bits of stone
Perhaps reflecting all we are
In wood or weathered bone.

Somewhere in riverbeds run dry
Our footsteps all are gone
Each one of us has said goodbye
Embraced and gone back home.

Yet somehow something stayed with me
Even then I knew
In heart and mind and here and now
What called to me was you.

-- Scott Dugan

Welcome to the Blog site for participants of the 112th Dialogue In The Desert Workshop at the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. The workshop, presented by Joe Williams Communications, took place over six days in November 2010 during which time tremendous friendships were made between learning sessions, lots of fun, and great food.

Below are just a few photos from the event, to give a hint of the group's activities.

This blog is open to comments and additional input from all participants in the 112th Dialogue In The Desert workshop.

(All photos in this particular blog entry are ©2010, Tom Grier. Photos may be downloaded and used in anyway by members of the Dialogue 112 group. Any other use is not allowed without written permission of the photographer.)