3 posts tagged “lessons”

Read this in the Baltimore Sun and would just like to share to everyone.

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 bottles of cold beer.

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 asked the students again if the jar was now 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. 'Yes' was the reply.

The professor then produced two bottles of cold beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of 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: 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 noroom 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 haveroom 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 spouse out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the shower. 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 cold beer represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's  always room for a bottle of cold beer with a friend.'

I was in this much awaited captain’s night dinner on a vacation cruise when I heard a young man seated besides our table sneeze and I felt droplets of water on my neck. When I turned around, I noticed that he used the food menu to cover his sneezing and not the napkin underneath the menu.  I was disappointed but then realized that not every one of us was taught manners.

Our parents always teach us whenever humanly possible about different kinds of manners. Our job is to apply them because if you do not do so, other people will think that you were not raised well by your parents.

My friends colleague was given a dramatic salary increase because she was the only one standing up when the boss enters the conference room for meetings. She was noticed and promoted because she had manners.

I’ve read a book a few months back called “The Book of Family Manners” by Hermine Hartley. Here are some of what most of our parents taught us combined with the book that I read for a refresher course on life manners.

1.  When visiting someone else’s home and your kid accidentally breaks something, offer to pay or replace the item. When your child doesn’t want the food in the hosts house, at least take a few mouthfuls. It is rude not to do so.

2.  When eating, do not forget the basics! Chew with your mouth close. Eat with a fork unless the food is meant to be eaten with fingers. Only babies eat with fingers and last but not the least, always remember to say thank you to the one who served you. Do not say rude things even if you saw some foreign object in your food like insects or hairs.

3.  When invited in a party, always follow the R.S.V.P. in the invitation and confirm prior the said event. Plenty of us disregard that and it just defeats the purpose of it. You will also make it harder for the host to estimate the numbers.

4.  Parents should be good examples because the children will imitate it. Manners are taught at home and not in school. Always say please, thank you and sorry.

5.  Always be considerate to others like when in the subway. Offer your seat to the pregnant woman or elderly person. Do not contradict your spouse in public as your kids will do this to you. Remember the golden rule? Do unto other what you want others to do unto you. You can read that and more on Luke 6:30-36.

Manners should not be a task. It should be a daily lifestyle activity like eating, walking and praying. In doggy world, having manners will mean that you are a good breed and your "papers" will have stars on it. This will show others that your parents are good parents and they have taught you well. Let this be a reminder to everyone who forgets that manners are still important even though you are have achieved high, a multi-billionaire or just a commoner like most of us. Let us do this in return to what our parents had done to us and to reflect God’s attitude. Are you constantly aware of your manners?

Let me guess. There are only two reasons why you are reading this post. One is, because you are a fan of Mr. Bean. The other is, because you are not a fan of him. Was that a useless statement? That is way better than hearing what he had been saying a lot from his TV series like “helloes” or “Tey-dey” (Teddy).

 

Some quick trivia about Mr. Bean, did you know that Mr. Beans’ first name was never revealed? So is Beans’ arch-enemies identityand the blue car. We can get some real life lessons from his funny moments.

 

Remember the episode wherein he doesn’t want the food in a restaurant? He tried very hard to dispose this and ended up being given another one. In life, do whatever you want as long as you know the limits. There is a big difference in being shy and being stupid. If you are the customer, you must practice your rights. Remember, having an enemy is always a good sign. It means that you stood up for something you believe in.

 

How about Mr. Beans’ child like acts like the one where he played with the Christmas display in the mall? It is not recommended to do so but, remember, it is not good to be serious always. You need to release your feelings. Express your emotions! Find whatever that makes you happy and do it. That way, you will enjoy what you do and be successful in it. If you keep everything to yourself, you might explode and go bean crazy.

Mr. Beans’ vacation also showed us confidence. Traveling around an unfamiliar territory with a compass? That would take a lot of guts. In life, you will face situations out of your comfort zone. There are only two choices, it is either to face it or run away from it. Remember, without those challenges, you would not grow as a person.

 

Not all can be learned in school. School teaches you the basics and it is up to you to steer the steering wheel. I am not saying that education is useless. What I am saying here is, education needs to be mixed with real life experiences. Have you watched the one where Bean wanted to donate money to a beggar? He checked out his pocket and saw he was out of coins. What he did was, he placed his handkerchief on the floor and danced away. People gave him money and he in turn, gave the money to the beggar. In life, you need common sense for survival.

 

Last but not the least; you do not need to exert lots of effort to make people happy. Just be yourself. People who pretend to impress often get caught in a situation where he gets tired of pretending and everything will fall. You always hear that in first dates, you should put your best foot forward. Bean says otherwise. He gave Irma Gobb a poster as a Christmas gift. She was irked a little, but Irma still loved him anyway. In love, you don’t need to pretend to each other to love each other. That won’t be successful.

 

Just be yourself, be creative and resourceful, improve your confidence and stand up for what you believe in. This is the way to live life to the fullest. Some things are better done in private. I am sure you would agree. So, can you do the bean dance in public?