Do you know the analogy about BIG ROCKS? This story is one of my favorites.
An instructor was lecturing his students on the use of time. He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouthed gallon jar. He then filled the jar with big rocks and asked the class, “Is this jar full?” Everyone said, “Yes.”
He then reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, “Is the jar full?” At this point, the students were on to him.
“Probably not,” they said. He then brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in, and it went into all of the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more, he looked up and said, “Now is this jar full?” Yes?
Next he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got about a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, “Well, what’s the point?” Somebody said, “Well, there are gaps, and if you work really hard, you can always fit some more things into your life.”
“No,” he said, “That’s not the point. The point is this: If you hadn’t put the big rocks in first, you never would have fit them in. Now you need to decide what your big rocks are.”
Mike and I like to go with our kids to the North Shore to visit my parents. We love going down to the beach. There we either throw rocks into the lake or pick up favorite colors and shapes. I am known to love heart-shaped stones, and there is one beach in particular where it seems I always find one or two of these sweetheart stones. This time I saw five heart-shaped rocks in a variety of colors. I built them into a rock cairn. Spending time with my family. BIG ROCK!
My parents like to be with family and friends, and my kids have a good time with them. Usually, this means several games of cards or dominos instead of watching TV. My youngest son’s greatest joy came one weekend when he played a perfect game of Up and Down the River and for the very first time EVER beat my dad. (If you have had the chance to play cards with my dad you know he rarely loses! He’s excellent.) Playing cards with Grandma and Grandpa. BIG ROCK!
Yesterday we attended the funeral of my Aunt Gen. She was my dad’s younger sister. I saw cousins I had not seen in almost 20 years. We shared memories and stories of our childhood summers a long time ago. I saw a picture of my Grandpa Edwin on top of a haystack when he was a young man.
Although the photo wasn’t clear you could tell he was excited to be so high on the mound of hay. This reminded me of my dad when he’s on the roof of a house. Saying goodbye and remembering the past. BIG ROCK!
My parents, my kids, my husband, family, and friends are my BIG ROCKS, and the North Shore holds my DEEP ROOTS. I have spent a lot of time trying to put them into my gallon jar of life first, but then I realized there is another rock I need to get in there before all the gravel, sand and water fill up the jar, and that’s me. For my rock in the jar, I will find the perfect heart shaped stone and place it right on top!
“Our actions express our priorities.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of homestyle recipes. You can email her your thoughts and messages at sandyholthaus1010@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you.
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