An Atom

What is an atom? It is a small bit of matter and energy made up of smaller bits of matter and energy surrounded by large spaces of nothing. But somehow when a bunch of atoms are joined together they form elements and have mass. I think life is like an atom. It is made up of small bits of stuff surrounded by large spaces of nothing, yet when all the bits of stuff are joined together you have a history.

I often wonder if we spend too much time worrying about the small bits of stuff and not enough time filling in the large spaces. I am reminded of a story that is going around the web, about a college professor who is talking about life with his class. The story goes something like this.

One day the class shows up and on the table in the front of the room is a large glass container. The professor fills the container with large rocks until there is no more room. He sakes the class is the container filled, and they all agree. He then pulls out a box of pebbles and pours them in the jar filling up the open areas. Again he asks if the jar is full, again the class agrees. He then pulls out a box of sand, and pours into the container. The sand fills in the spaces between the pebbles. The professor tells the class, "This is your life, the rocks are the important things, your family, your health, your children. The pebbles are things that matter to you like your job, your home, your car. The sand is everything else. The lesson is if you fill up the jar with sand first there isn't room for anything else. Life is like that, if you spend all your time concentrating on the small stuff you never have room for the rocks in your life. Take care of the rocks first, set your priorities and fill in the spaces with the rest.