Life is a Cup of Coffee
Chinese Poetry
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 have been 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. Savor the coffee, not the cups! 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.
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 have been 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. Savor the coffee, not the cups! 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.
The story of this spiritual parable that keeps on pinching and punching me all the years of my existence, has once a again made me realize that indeed, LIFE IS A CUP OF COFFEE.
Living the life of Ryan Jancinal is not as simple as others thought it to be (well, all lives are surprisingly unpredictable). My fate never cease to surprise me with many things that I never could comprehend, how or why did it occur. They say that "we all weave our own fabrics of lives, we seldom notice and see some easily-torn parts, that will eventually ruin the production, but; still it is still the same fabric that we wear on," it simply means that everything we do in life, is the production on how we live to be, it is not others work or output, but; it is ours. No matter how tragic or lucky we got ourselves into, it is still our own responsibility to make it bountiful and maintain the living formation that comprises the whole.
At this age, I have made quite a list of dreams or things to achieve. Things that solely be my possession in order to be happy, selfish dreams such as acquiring things with no consideration at all, nor thinking to help my parents in the near future. It was really awful, knowing that I have grown up this selfish, not realizing that my parents were the ones who nurtured and helped me through the way of my life. Oftentimes, I think only for my future, and it saddened me now that I was nearly giving up the thought of helping them someday. I immediately focused on my own cup, without even thinking that I have a coffee inside which I need to savor and smell the aroma. The coffee that comprises my existence: my family. After all, it is not the cup that will soothe my feeling while sipping the coffee but the coffee itself.
On the story, we are being taught that sometimes, we misled ourselves into the real thing. Sometimes, we ought to focus particularly on the cups that we have, realizing that it is not the coffee anymore. We prioritize the things around us, getting things that could never really make us happy. Things that may eventually pass and will never grant genuine joy.
The authentic happiness that we long and search for is the contentment we feel in a particular situation or in a particular setting. The same contentment that will bring about permanent happiness and joy and will turn out to be the inspiration towards brighter tomorrow. It is never seen in the concrete formations of temporary happiness, but always you find it in some small and meager things. Always think that LIFE is never about how will you get successful in the future or how will live your life in the future, but it is on how you make it everyday to achieve a good future.
I seldom see that. The reality that I should be accustomed for are far from me. I cloud myself with grandiose thoughts, even though I know deep inside I know my happiness, and I never search for the inner happiness, I always go for the fame. Pity I grew like this realizing that I patronize worthless thoughts and dreams. I am so certain that it is still not the end of my journey. I, too is certain about how lucrative this life will be if I know how to prioritize things and will achieve the goals I set. I am certain that I could do it.
It might be a steeply climb, who cares?
The parable reflects in a normal living where people is having difficulty weighing things especially if the person is more particular in the outside beauty than the inside.
TumugonBurahinI can't critic since I am also like this sometimes and the thing is we can't enjoy the inside beauty which is the real one and should be prioritize, its like judging the book by its cover not the content.
Ryan indeed gives a realistic output about what life is and how we are being blinded with the jobs, achievements, careers, positions and money than how we must gain true happiness in our lives.
TumugonBurahin“Life is a Cup of Coffee” is one of the meaningful literary pieces that I have appreciated and treasured for everybody can relate and realize the same thing that I have realized which we must give affirmations and importance to most essential persons in our lives before we take regrets forever: our parents. Just always make them feel how much you are grateful and fortunate to have loving and supportive parents and always make the best that you can to make them happy because you attract the vibration of being happy also into your life.
“Life is too short”, then we must make the most of it by doing what really makes us happy. I hope that Ryan will be enlightened by his own literary piece and thanks to him, I am reminded of how I must appreciate and give essence to my family and all the persons who may come into my life.:)
Sometimes, there are things in which we forget what are our priorities in life. Moreover, we did not even notice that we took for granted those important ones because of the things surround us that will lead us to wrong move or decision.
TumugonBurahinRyan's sharing about his life is something worth to ponder. This literary piece made me realized that we must not focus more about the outside beauty but the real beauty of a certain thing which makes it beautiful and unique that the others.
In life, we all know that we have losing attention in someone or to others, because we keep attaching with our achievements in life. We all know, that nowadays we were always too busy for our job, and many more, sometimes we never give the time or interest deserves by our love ones. We spare gifts upon them, sometimes we discourage them, because we are more focusing with our achievements. we should remember that life is too short to waste. we must spend more time with someone we love than keep on attaching with things that we cant bring in life forever.
TumugonBurahinI also believe that there are many distractions in this luxurious world that we are enjoying right now sometimes we get focused in this luxuries than enjoying the real essence of life that is living life with humility and helping others who are in need. Ryan is also right when he said that there are times that we tend to be selfish and forgot immediately those persons whom from the very start is there for us, I’m not saying its right but its true because human as we are we commit mistakes, we are not perfect, but form that mistake we learn.
TumugonBurahinA grandiose person is near to temptation because he easily get dazzled by those extravagant things that he sees and at times this will become our standards for living, if without this things we are nobody, that is why just like in the story Life is a Cup of Coffee we first choose the best cup without thinking that in the end still what matters is the taste of coffee and not the cup.
It is really a great piece it is full of values and so inspirational.
Hi Ryan. It's just normal for a person to dream big and to aim high. I'm just confused of those worthless dreams you have mentioned and you're giving me an idea that you are regretting all of those. I tell you. There's nothing wrong with thinking of yourself and for yourself because in that way, you can have a lot of things to give and share not only to your family but to the people in general.
TumugonBurahin