Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bluff City News

Bill Sellers was scheduled for some tests at Little Rock this week. He has been having some trouble with his back again.

I hear James and Kay Nelson have a new breed of dog at their farm. James calls it a Boxahoula. We once had a Boxer dog who loved to bury things. She would bury live

terrapins and even those large quart soda bottles. When the garden was plowed up in the spring, it was not unusual to find some of her buried treasures in the garden.

I thought I would share with you this week an article by an unknown author which contains some good advice as we enter this new year.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began he picked up a large mayonnaise 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. He then picked up a box of pebbles and placed in the jar. They filled the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up all the unused space in the jar.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important thingsyour family, your children, your healthanything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else  the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time 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. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your wife out for dinner.

"There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first  the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."