Our Life’s Journey

What affects our life’s journey? What gives us the guidelines to have a happy and successful life? Probably many different things each of which are dependent on the individual person you are.

A friend posted an ‘article’ on her Facebook page this morning. Its one that’s done the rounds probably a hundred times, has probably been read by us all at some stage or other, but its message is true enough to warrant talking about it some more. Have you seen it? the message about filling the mayonnaise jar with golf balls, pebbles, sand and coffee?

I love this message. Its a fine guideline for a life’s journey. Fill your life (jar) with the little things affecting you, and there will be less space for the important things. In fact putting the pebbles/sand into the jar first, often means there is no room for any golf balls at all. What great wisdom. And what a shame so many of us forget this very simple life skill.

Take a moment to think about what’s important in your life today. It may have changed since those days of yesteryear, and it could likely be different in the tomorrows of the future. But I figure concentrating on the wonders today can bring will give me happiness and real contentment. Worrying about yesterday or tomorrow are things beyond my control. Instead I’m hoping to enjoy whatever life has dealt me. In fact, I’m aiming to enjoy every second of it, I hope.

What do the golf balls represent in your life? For me its my family – which of course has changed drastically over the years. I now factor in in-laws and grandchildren and elderly parents. My energy no longer focuses on daily physical care of children but instead I get to worry about them as they make their own way out in the big wide world. Will they succeed, prosper, find happiness? That is out of my hands. They have their own mayonnaise jars to fill. My writing is another golf ball. While I have chosen to make a career of writing romance stories, it is my urge (whoops, should I use such a word when talking about romance? lol) to share the stories rolling around inside my head that makes writing a golf ball for me. My faith, my health, my well being, my friends, these all assume golf ball status for me.

There are so many more parts of my life I cherish, for example, my genealogy research. I cannot imagine being without the intrigue and excitement this pastime has given me but in the huge scheme of things, I think it has to be relegated to a pebble. Its not a case of it being unimportant, just a little less important than other things. I also have an ever growing bucket list to achieve in the next few (hopefully twenty or thirty) years but if most of them remain a dream, then that’s okay, too. As long as my golf balls remain intact and inside that jar, I think I’ll be happy.

Can you separate the golf balls, pebbles and sand in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts.