knowing how to prioritize

[נהורא נפישא]

I recently heard a beautiful thought I would like to share (originally I heard it from a non-Jewish source and I turned it in to a nice Hasidic tale)
A Hasid went once to his Rebbe and complained that he doesn't understand why it is after all these years he worked hard to acquire wealth and the purchase of the finest commodities, all of this didn't have any effect to improve his Sholem Beyis whatsoever.
So the Rebbe went out with the Hasid to his garden, collected some stones, then came back to his room, took the stones and filled it up into a bottle, then the Rebbe asked the Hasid is the bottle full ? to which the Hasid replied, yes it is! Then the rebbe once again went out with the Hasid to his garden, picked up some sand, came back in, the Rebbe poured the sand into the bottle, then the rebbe again asked the Hasid, is the bottle full? To which the hasid replied, yes it is! Then the rebbe took some vodka and poured it into the bottle, once again the Rebbe asked the Hasid, is the bottle full? Again the Hasid replied, Yes it is!
Then the Rebbe explained with a smile, the stones are symbolic of the things which are most important in life like Sholem Biyes, the upbringing of the children and so on, whereas the sand is symbolic to those things which are not so important, but may still be enjoyed in life, if you would have the bottle filled initially with the sand there won't be any room for the stones anymore, only if you fill the bottle first with stones you would have room for some sand.
So the Hasid asked the Rebbe and what's with the vodka, to which the Rebbe replied, This teaches us a great lesson, for a cup of mashkeh there's always room in life.