It appears to me that life, nature, and dice always arrive in polar opposite pairs; not always, but often enough. If I throw a pair of dice, I invariably get a six and a one. If I get a raise at work, the transmission in my car blows up, thus nullifying any potential extra money I may have planned on. Often the opposites are not equal in strength; a big positive is only partially offset by a minor negative, or vice versa – so equality in a specific event is not a given. This concept helps me understand the optimists and pessimists of this world; optimists believe life will be driven by more wining pairs than losers, and pessimists favor the opposite. However you view the world, your glass is rarely empty or completely full, it is somewhere in between. The trick to living a happy and fulfilling life then, is to manage the level in the glass.
The first thing I try to remember is that it is my glass; therefore I have the greatest influence of what goes in and what is removed; so for the most part – I control the level in the glass. This is not an easy concept for a lot of people; some choose to believe that stuff just happens and then you deal with it. They are half right – stuff does happen, but we can control how much of the stuff flows into our cup, or just as important, we can control how much is spilled out of our cup. In general, good things (people, encounters, actions, reactions, events) fill your cup, and bad things (people, encounters, actions, reactions, events) make you stumble and spill from your cup. We walk through life holding our cup proudly, keeping the level high, but then something happens. An earthquake, a strong wind, or a rogue wave hits us broadside and we spill some of the contents of the cup. Our happiness, joy, confidence, and worth spill onto the ground.
Everyone knows the saying that asks the question “Is your glass half full or half empty?” I believe that is the wrong question. The important observation is that the glass isn’t full. Stop worrying about the semantics of full and empty and start filling your glass! If goodness can fill a glass, then find, do, and embrace more good people, and events in your life. Doing good for others is often the best way to fill your own glass. When you concentrate on filling your own glass, and those people around you, the storms of life cause less to spill from your own glass.
This Easter, our family enjoyed church together, a great meal and wonderful conversation. And, I started the day by reading the Word. My cup is filled to the brim. Hope yours is too.
Thanks for reading.
Today my cup is over flowth too, great message dad!