How many marbles are in the bag?

I walk up to a child with a bag of marbles. I tell him he can reach into the bag and whatever marble he pulls out, he can keep. He pulls out a black marble.

Excited for only a moment, he asks me what other colors are in the bag. I tell him that the only way to find out is to reach in and grab another marble. Excited again, he reaches into the bag and pulls out another marble. It’s yellow, and he quickly tells me how much he likes the bright color.

He then asks me if there are any other colors in the bag or if they are all black and yellow. I smile and tell him he will have to figure it out for himself.

He then looks back at the black marble, now at his feet. He asks if it’s OK to pick it up. He is asking if it is OK for him to have more than one marble. I explain to him that there are no rules to this game he is playing.

He puts the black and the yellow marbles into his pocket before reaching back into the bag again. He pulls out a red marble. He really likes this one, but I encourage him to reach back into the bag for another one. This time he pulls out a metallic silver marble.

In that moment he understands that this game has so many more possibilities than he originally thought. He tells me that he never would have expected to get this type of marble until now, as he was holding it in his hand.

He then asks me, “How many marbles are in the bag?” I tell him there are more than 2.1 billion marbles inside the bag. At this point he realizes there are more marbles than he could ever play with.

Lesson:

Life is like the bag of marbles, full of opportunities. People can reach into the bag and whatever marble they pulls out, they can keep. The way to find out and get which marble is to reach in and grab the marble.