A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to
visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into
complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and
returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -
porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive,
some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
'If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to
want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems
and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the
coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even
hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the
cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began
eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in
society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and
the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life
we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy
the coffee God has provided us.'
God brews the coffee, not the cups ... Enjoy your coffee!
'The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make
the best of everything.'
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest
to God.
The
Coffee or The Cup
