A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."
"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change."
"Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
[So friend, don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead.]
Story above is just a copy-paste of what I got by mail.
I felt this was heavy because I lately seem to run behind better cups in search of a good coffee.
Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."
"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change."
"Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
[So friend, don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead.]
Story above is just a copy-paste of what I got by mail.
I felt this was heavy because I lately seem to run behind better cups in search of a good coffee.
Ain't we all?
15 comments:
When we pay 45rs at cafe's coffee day what do we pay for ? cup or coffee ? :-)
Neither Cup Nor Coffee :)-
Siva - Metaphorically it is for the "Cup" not for the "Coffee".
sorry my previous comment was offtopic :-)
coming to your post's topic this is the first time I hear this content vs container analogy equated to life. Usually it is used for brands, and cafe's coffee day style service.
Interesting to equate it to life. assuming the analogy is correct, isn't filter coffee different than instant coffee ? so what does it mean in terms of life. All materialistic things being equated to cup what are the things to equate to coffee and how they differ in taste/perception ?
talking about cups, the small cups in railway stations (I hear infy cafetaria too ? ), or plastic cups are not as good as steel stuff. But porcelain is better than stainless steel. So the tools make a difference too :-)
sari, sari , romba seriousa comment pannitten, vidu fwd thane.
Siva,
Tools do make a difference too. The story states that if you think plastic cup is better than stainless steel, just settle down with the stainless steel and start drinking your coffee (i.e start living your life to the fullest). Don't look at the other person with porcelain and drink your coffee with a mentality (or jealousy) that the other's coffee tastes better than yours.
Well, this is just a metaphor. Moral of the story is "live YOUR life to the fullest".
I use to tell that if you are content with whatever you have got in life and kind of reached a self-satisfied mode (or complacent) there is no growth. In a way this is contradictory to the story.
While reading bible or any spiritual book, it's the state of your mind that gets you different interpretation. Same applies to this story too. I got what I said in the above paras.
Am I confusing or Am I confused?
(need to sleep - good night).
Seeni, that is a good story related to life. That's true while purpose is living life we are doing things to live life forgetting to live it (confusing). There was lot of theft in a colony, so they appointed a watchman. For giving him salary they had a finance department and head to watch it, a auditor for verification. Atlast they found it expensive, for cost cutting they fired the watchman. Moral here is we are forgetting the core.
I liked a sequence that came in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Yehi Jeena hai tho marna kya hai (if this is living then what is death). One example is From morning to evening we keep working no time to parents,kids,friends, if this is living then what is death.
But the question that arises to me is what makes one life live to their fullest. If you ask a scientist he may say finding some new thing that change mankind, for teacher it differs. Even making perishable plastic cup may be dream.
For me frankly I don't know, but only thing I want is when I die there should not be any regrets ,that will make my life fullest. Great people might have missed life a common man would have enjoyed.
You are right Barani, we can not just like that say one person did not live his/her life to the fullest. It varies person to person.
That reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my class mates towards the end of the college life. That person was one among the toppers. That person spent lot of time in only studying. I was in the impression that that person did not live the college life to the fullest and made a statement that 'you didnt enjoy the college life'. But that person denied and said that that person enjoyed the college life to the fullest. There was truth in that person's denial.
I learnt that day that what sounds or appears as enjoyment or living-your-life doesn't have to be applicable to everyone the sameway.
As Barani said, tt's that no-regrets-at-the-time-of-death is what matters whether or not you have lived your life to the fullest.
Too philosophical...?!
No Regret at the time of death, Barani, thats excellent view of enjoying a coffee. Nee Engeyo poitta.
Seeni, For me definition of coffee is like this, end of day I shouldn't have a disturbed sleep.
What ever might be the cup or coffee, my balance level of having good coffee in a good cup can be measured from my sleep.
I too had disturbed sleep due to personal as well as career progression, but as on today no more...
I will not sacrifice my sleep even if it brings 100$ a day, I stopped my frequent venture into options trading, just because I started lossing my sleep rather running behind cup :)-
Sorry Seeni, if it deviates from your main topic.
My Sleep is directly proportional to coffee and inversely proportional to a cup.
I decide Cup and Coffee based on my sleep.
And My Sleep is not based on comparison with others cup and Coffee :)-
Arasa,
Good to know that you are not worried about others' cups. Keep it up.
Hey
It was a nice simple 'cup & Coffee 'story with a deep logic behind it.
This surely will make people to think ;
Dear Kittu - welcome to my blog.
Yes this has a deep logic behind it. I did really make me to think. :)
hi seeni,
dat was a wonderful thought....
my question is when a cup is broken or damaged will we still prefer the coffee in it; when we have a better cup next to it???
Dear Ann,
That was not my thought, anyways, thanks. :)
When we have a leaky cup, definitely we would have a yearning look at the better cups next to it. Point here is, just settle down with some cup (that's not broken or damaged) and dont wander around in search of better cups.
Conclusion is live your life. Before that build your environment to start living your life.
Too much of funda?!?!?
So, at last you found my blogsite? I am just wondering how did you find mine. Want to share?
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