The philosophy professor stood before his class with various items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked
the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the spaces between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  The students laughed and agreed it was. The professor finally picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining spaces in the jar.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that the jar represents your life.  The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - 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
your job, your house, your car.  The sand is everything else. The small, insignificant stuff."

"Note, however, that if you put the sand into the jar first, there will no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy 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 partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and put out the rubbish.  Take care of the rocks first -the things that really matter. Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand."

But then... a student took the jar which the other students and the professor had all agreed was now full, and proceeded to pour in a bottle of beer. Of course it was absorbed by the sand making the jar truly full. 

The moral of this tale is:
That no matter how full your life is, there is always room for BEER.

The morale of this tale is:
Some students, sometimes, know more than the professors...

Emailed this many years ago to my mentor, a
history Professor who promptly framed it and hung
it on the wall in his office although he changed
"beer" to "cold beverage" to fend off the PC
Police but all who know him, know he wasn't
talking about Dr. Pepper or Big Red . . .