My Dad often forwards me interesting jokes, stories and so on. Here is one he sent me today. I enjoyed reading it and you may as well.

When things in your life 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—God, 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. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. 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 and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’

The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID.

Technorati Tags: happiness, important things in life, life

People are giving drugs Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac to their dogs and other pets to calm them down. To stop them barking for instance. Blows my mind.

Can you imagine?

I was buying some tea at Tealish at 198 Walnut Ave. just south of Queen Street here in Toronto. I bought some Rooibos (also known as Red Bush, or Red Tea) a herbal tea that grows wild in South Africa and it is naturally caffeine-free. I’m enjoying some now. Yum!

So back to barking dogs.

I started chatting with another customer whose dog started barking as she walked into the store. Apparently Jake, a one year old puppy, had just started doing this. She was looking for ways to help him stop doing this. In the course of our conversation she mentioned that she was doing a film about Dogs on Drugs. I said your’re kidding. She said no she wasn’t.

Apparently some people have begun to give their dogs drugs such as Prozac to calm them down so they would not bark.

Are these people brain dead?

And who is selling them the Prozac?

Technorati Tags: dogs, drugs, prozac, rooibos, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs, Tealish

It was very good to spend the evening with Mandaza at the Spirituality in Healthcare Network event.

He shared his wisdom and commented on a wide variety of issues.

The evening began with us connecting with the Spirits being lead by Larry Nussbaum and his drum. Larry invited those of us who wished to go to a table that he had setup and retrieve an Instrument of Mass Percussion - a wide selection of drums, rattles and so on.

We started with silence. After awhile someone began to shake a rattle. Voices sounded. Rattles and drums and so on and more voices joined in. We were connected.

Mandaza was introduced and welcomed by a number of speakers.

Mandaza spoke. He had a list of topics that had been presented to him that he had been asked to speak about. I won’t go through the whole list. I can’t remember them.

But two things, two things stuck in my mind.

One was that we need to look to the future and care for the children. All the children everywhere. We the adults are responsible. That the child who today we are throwing in prison for shooting someone with a gun was using a gun designed and produced by adults. The guns were there when s/he was born. He spoke at some length about the importance of we as adults are responsible for what the children become - all children and all adults. Worth thinking about don’t you think?

The other thing that really landed on me was the idea that while we need to take care of Mother Earth by stopping what we are doing to hurt Her through pollution and so on, that at the end of the day if we do not stop hurting Her we could all be dead BUT Mother Earth will still be here.

Mother Earth does not need us but we surely need Her. Worth thinking about I think.

The other one that really struck me was

Technorati Tags: Mandaza, Spirituality in Health-Care Network