ClayBarham
08-24-2007, 05:31 PM
A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of mismatched cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite.
Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. When each of his former students had a cup of coffee, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to address the small gathering.
“You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups. Then you began eyeing each others cups.
Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. So please remember: Live simply. Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly.”
Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. When each of his former students had a cup of coffee, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to address the small gathering.
“You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups. Then you began eyeing each others cups.
Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. So please remember: Live simply. Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly.”