If I told you a cup of coffee brews a thousand stories, would you believe me? I read a story once, it was a simple piece yet it resonated deeply in my mind. Maybe I am just a sucker for such heartwarming tales, but I like stirring my cuppa with a cinnamon stick, feel the hot wasp of caffeine enveloping my cheeks and kick back with a story or two. Grab that platter of chocolate chip muffins and sit beside me, the story goes……
It was a fine day. A group of alumni students, all highly established professionals gathered together to pay their old university professor a visit in the countryside. Casual conversation turned into torrid complaints about the stresses of work and life.
Offering coffee to his guests, the professor went into the kitchen and came out balancing a stenciled tray. On it stood a pot of coffee and a bunch of assorted cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal – some expensive, some exquisite, some ordinary looking. Once every alumni has had a cup of joe in hand, the professor started to speak:
“ If you noticed, all the nice, expensive cups have been taken, leaving behind the plain ones. That is the source of all your problems. We always want what is best for us, that is totally appropriate. However, you must know that the cup adds no value to the coffee you are drinking. In some cases, it’s more expensive, in other cases, even hides what we drink. What you want is coffee, not the cup, But you deliberately went for the nicer cups, then you start eyeing others to see who has the best one.”
Glancing around the room, the professor could see guilt in the alumnis’ eyes, some shifting in their seats as if on pins and needles. He took a sip from his cup and continued his story…
“Now imagine this, life is the coffee, the cups are just the tools that contain all the career, money, and social issues in it. Life and the type of cup do not determine nor change our quality of life. Sometimes we focus more on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cup. The happiest people on earth do not have the best of everything, yet they make the best of everything.”
Live simply, Speak kindly, Care deeply, Love generously!
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Touch A Heart With This Story Today!=D