The Cup or the Coffee?

Posted by Unknown On Monday, August 20, 2012 2 comments
Different people react differently to disappointments in life. For me, each disappointment makes me stronger and more resilient.

For instance, the following quotation aptly describes how I used to feel twenty years ago:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

And then life throws me lemons and I felt this way:

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.”
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”
― William Blake

As time goes by, the following quotation describes how I used to feel in the last three years or so:

“Nobody likes being alone that much. I don't go out of my way to make friends, that's all. It just leads to disappointment. ”
Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Life has a strange way of teaching me lessons so now, I resonate with the following quotation:

“You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It won't happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.”
Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential

“Joy is sometimes a blessing, but it is often a conquest. Our magic moment help us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments — but all of this is transitory it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.”
Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

We have heard this famous quotation from Forrest Gump:
My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

As it is the festive holiday break, perhaps in the midst of visitations, it would be good to watch this video clip and think about our lives. I believe it is always good to ponder, reflect, resolve and move on in our lives lest we go on with so much emotional baggage that may bog us down.

This video was produced by Simple Truths. It is also worthwhile reading the comments in the thread of discussion. It is really up to us what we make out of life! Take care and have a lovely day.

CLICK HERE to watch Life Is Like Coffee.




2 comments to The Cup or the Coffee?

  1. says:

    walla Indeed, the intrinsic quality of a coffee is not altered by the quality of its container.

    The subjects in the video went for the more expensive cups because they had instinctively associated cheap plastic cups with poor quality coffee. In most cases in real life, that happens to be so. After all, plastic implies disposable.

    On the other hand, it is not illogical to conclude if everyone had been consistently served fine coffee in plastic cups and bland coffee in expensive cups from the very first day they were introduced to the beverage, then one may expect all to gravitate to choosing coffee already contained in plastic cups over that contained in fine porcelain cups.

    Which brings up the question whether the world infuses us with a pavlovian response to logical progression. Perhaps much of the stress and tension around is rooted in this paradox since pavlovian signifies instinct but progress signifies logical development.

    A neat cut of this gordian knot is by just simplifying everything. In other words, one may continue to turn the wheels of progress and make material accumulation an ongoing objective but it should not be at the expense of equanimity of the soul. There should be balance to the extent of not being antsy too much if one fails to achieve targets after much effort, sacrifices even.

    By the same token, what applies to material wealth applies to emotional count as well. We may yearn to feel and fill the full spectrum of human emotions in our quest to lead more meaningful lives but we should also have enough wisdom to draw a line based on our acceptance that as humans we are limited by our own ability to steer our personal boats more steadily the more complex life situations become.

    In short, finding the middle path between art and tactic presents a wiser bet when chips are down each time events overturn themselves, hopes and dreams get dashed on the rocks of reality, and disappointments pile up like ripples on the grains of time.

    After all, change is a constant process obeying the inevitable driving force of thermodynamics, and paradox is a consequence of change. To wit, we get to eat our own words every time. Since that can apply to this comment, we should continue to hope for the best. And by the rule of simplicity, leave it precisely at that.

    Meanwhile, one good video deserves another: http://is.gd/ekZk8o

    Bon appetit.






  1. says:

    Unknown What an awesome response, Walla! Thank you over and over again!

    I have read what you shared many times and each time, I am touched in different ways.

    You are indeed one in a zillion!!!

    God bless you abundantly for surely you have blessed me and many with your insightful wisdom!!!

    Take care and please stay in touch always.

    Warmest wishes

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