The Mayonnaise Jar

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 two 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 jar of mayonnaise and proceeded to stuff it with golf balls. The mayonnaise overflowed and slowly dripped down the sides of the jar. The students were flabbergasted with confusion.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They reluctantly agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. By now, the room was filled with the sharp scent of the mayonnaise.

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. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous and impatient "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of scalding hot coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar. The students laughed loudly.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar of mayonnaise represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your spouse, your children, your house, your car, your bank account, and your favorite possessions—things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter…like food, water, your co-workers, your television, your landlord, your motorcycle, or your pets. The mayonnaise represents all of your life's decisions, both good and bad. Now the sand—that is a reminder that when we die, we shall return to the earth from whence we came." The students grew uncomfortable and fidgeted in their seats. The professor then emptied the entire contents of the mayonnaise jar into a large metal tray lined with tinfoil. He stood there motionless, staring blankly at the goopy mess.

One of the students timidly raised her hand and inquired what the two cups of coffee represented. The professor smiled sadly, a tear welling up in his eye. He took a deep breath and struggled to speak despite the rising lump in his throat. "I'm glad you asked," he began haltingly, "the coffee represents the time, ten years ago, when my wife called me from a local restaurant and asked me to meet her for coffee on my lunch break. I told her that I was just too busy—maybe some other time. Well, as she left the restaurant that day, her car was hit head-on by a cement truck. She died instantly." The professor broke down into a heap of desperate sobs. He was unable to complete his lesson for the day. His students gathered around him and formed a warm living cocoon of love and understanding. There was not a dry eye in the room.

The moral of this story is that no matter what tragedies life hands us, there will always be people who will hope to attempt to try to imagine that they think they understand what we are going through. Send this message of hope along to everyone you know!