"Men spend their lives in anticipations, - in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time. But the present time has one advantage over every other - it is our own. Past opportunities are gone, future have not come. We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age."
- Charles Caleb Colton
Today, I will count my many blessings. Today, I will do my work honestly.
Today, I will be kind to every living creature.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Make the best of what you have
To follow is a nice little parable by "Unknown".
A group of alumni, highly established in their respective careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life.
Offering his guests some coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned in a while with a large pot of hot coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some quite exquisite.
He told the group to help themselves to the coffee. When all of the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, 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's the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it's 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're just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of the life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that has been provided us. Enjoy your coffee!"
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they do have.
That is a wonderful parable and carries such a powerful message. This moment . . . right now . . . is your life . . . enjoy the moment.
A group of alumni, highly established in their respective careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life.
Offering his guests some coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned in a while with a large pot of hot coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some quite exquisite.
He told the group to help themselves to the coffee. When all of the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, 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's the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it's 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're just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of the life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that has been provided us. Enjoy your coffee!"
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they do have.
That is a wonderful parable and carries such a powerful message. This moment . . . right now . . . is your life . . . enjoy the moment.
Monday, May 9, 2016
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