This demonstration is an adaptation of a well-known story about life's priorities. Use this activity during any study circle session when you talk about our spiritual obligations as Baha'is, teaching, etc., anything that takes time, and when looking at the concept of balance in our lives.

Materials: Glass jar (large, like a mayonnaise jar), golf balls, small pebbles, sand & some tea (hide the tea from the participants before you start the demonstration)-.

Story of the "Mayonnaise Jar & Tea"

1. Share that you are presenting a demonstration of a spiritual principle, but don't share what it is yet. Fill the mayo jar with golf balls. Ask the Study Circle participants if the jar is full. They will most likely agree that it is.

2. Then pick up the pebbles and pour them into the jar, shake so the pebbles roll into the open areas between the golf balls. Ask the Study Circle participants again if the jar is full.

3. Pour the sand into the jar and fill in all the nooks and crannies. Ask the Study Circle participants again if the jar is full. They will probably say that it is.

4. Bring out the tea (don't let them see the tea before this step) and fill up the mayo jar with tea to the brim. Now is the jar full?

The moral of the story is.... this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, your Faith, your family, your children, your health and your friends -- 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, and your car.

The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, 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. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Say your prayers, do your daily readings, go to Feast. Play with your children, spend time with your spouse. There will always be time to clean the house. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

Ask the participants what they think the tea represents. Answer: No matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of tea with a friend.