Stress, Coffee and Life

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 made of porcelain, glass and plastic. Some of the cups were plain-looking and some were expensive & exquisite. The professor then asked them to help themselves to the hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were 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. 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, don't let the cups drive you ... enjoy the coffee instead. Good Day

Vikram

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

this story is so timely and well-meaning in today's recession days. the story is both a telling reminder of the state-of-affairs of our modern life and a warning to us.

B Palani said...

very nice story thanks