A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he 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 then asked the students again if the jar was 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. The students responded with a unanimous . . . "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the 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; God, family, children, health, friends and favorite passions, 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, house, and car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first", he continued "there is no room 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 have room for the things that are important to you. So 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 to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 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 coffee 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 couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
I share that story because when it comes to Politics.. Constiuency 24 has become my political “Mayonaise jar” and the issues rasied by residents and voters … they are my golf balls… take Dunscombe Road for instance that’s a golf ball… Tribe Road #2 another Golf ball , the young men on Ord Road another Golf Ball … Quarry Hill , Coarl Hill , Privateer Lane … and if thoes were the only issues within 24 my jar would be full.
The pebbles … the pebbles in this jar represent ACTION … On Dunscombe Road the residents pointed out that during the building of Whale Watch the heavy trucks left the road worn and torn so I reached out to the Minister and I'm pleased to say that Dunscombe Road is next on the list for being repaved… that’s a pebble.
Tribe road #2 is plagued with having an obstructed entrance and exit - once again I reached out to the Minister who came and personally looked into the situation and I can stand here tonight and say that a solution is in the works … another pebble down.
In my canvassing I came across a group of young men who were gathered in this one spot on Ord Road and even though they weren’t on my canvassing list and in some cases didn’t even live in Constituency 24, my canvassing partner and I stopped to talk with them and to be honest I think they canvassed me as I canvassed them. In spite of their first impression with the bandana, baggy jeans etc, one shared with me his aspirations to be an architect…another shared a business plan that was perfectly timed to take advantage of the Blue economy which the government is about to embark; the only thing they didn’t have was current employment. Before we left those young men I arranged for them to meet with a potential employer and I’m pleased to say that all 10 of those young men are now gainfully employed … NOW THAT’S A PEBBLE!
We have the Golf balls which is the vision to see what needs to be done … and we’ve got the pebbles which is the action to accomplish the goal set out by the vision.
Now it is time to introduce the sand… the small stuff … and for that I rely on the Oppostion … when they go into the media and talk about changing the constitution in order to have fixed term elections … sand ( how is that going to get you employed?), passing legislation to allow for a petition to be filed to remove sitting MP’s … MORE SAND … ( how is that going to help fix the economy?) and my opponent going public and saying that the government now is purposely with holding information from the police so that more people can be shot … THEY DO SUCH A GOOD JOB SHOVELING SAND … THEY SHOULD BE WITH WORKS AND ENGINEERING!
I know there's a saying about not taking sand to the beach… but Madame Premier could you please tell MP Craig Cannonier not to bring it to the House of Assembly!
The coffee will come after the election, because even though I will be an MP… I hope to have a moment or two to sit down and have a cup of coffee with a friend…and speaking of friends .. I would like to recognize one of my best friends … DAD … could you please stand up…
In actual fact we all have a political jar, which we make every effort to fill with Golf Balls … and the pebbles which represents the actions we take in serving our respective constituencies… and on a national scale Madame Premier it would be the platform and legislation that you take to parliament each week ..day in day out, year after year that the opostion doesn’t fill your political jar with their small stuff. Criticism here complaints there, and opposition for no other reason then them being the Opposition…and as long as we stay focused to the people of Bermuda then the responsibility that we inherited from our founders, the promise to the people who gave us the responsibility of government in 1998 will always be realized if we focus on the big stuff.
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