[Sophie]

Hiking in Yosemite National Park/California - June 2024
























The Jar of Life

”A professor of philosophy stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was full.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and watched as the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The professor then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed full this time.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled the remaining open areas of the jar.

The professor went on to explain that the jar of rocks, pebbles and sand represents everything that is in one’s life.

The rocks represent the most important things that have real value (such as your health, your loved ones, your inner peace). Those things that if everything else (the pebbles and the sand) was lost and only they remained, your life would still have meaning.

The pebbles represent the things in your life that matter, (such as your job, certain friendships) but they are not critical for you to have a meaningful life. These things come and go, and are not permanent or essential to your overall well-being.

The sand represents everything else – the small stuff. Material possessions, chores and less important matters, such as watching television or browsing social media sites. These things don’t mean much to your life as a whole and are likely only done to get small tasks accomplished or even to fill time.

If you start with putting sand into the jar, you will not have room for rocks or pebbles. This holds true with the things you let into your life. If you spend all of your time on the small and insignificant things, you will run out of room for the things that are actually important.

Make room for what’s important.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter and are critical to your long-term well-being and happiness. If you deal with the big issues by putting the rocks in the jar first, the small issues can still fall into place.”





Et si tu n'existais pas
Dis-moi pourquoi j'existerais
Pour traîner dans un monde sans toi
Sans espoir et sans regret

Et si tu n'existais pas
J'essaierais d'inventer l'amour
Comme un peintre qui voit sous ses doigts
Naître les couleurs du jour
Et qui n'en revient pas