Have a Cup of Coffee

The last article I wrote for this blog was in June. Since then, life for this grandfather has been very busy. Who knew that life in retirement could be so full?

Work & Life Stress

As I watch the world go streaming past me, I see a lot of stress on people’s faces. Often their stress is self-induced, by the way they live their lives.

So, this week, I’d like you to sit down and pour yourself a cup of coffee while you read this story I heard while teaching at the university years ago.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

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, and some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

After 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 but 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 not quality to the coffee. In most cases, it’s 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 began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and 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 the life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.”

God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Secret of Living a Good Life

Happy people enjoy the things they already have, instead of focusing on getting more things. Learning to appreciate what you already have may be the most vital ingredient to living a less stressful life.

What Does This Have To Do With Broadcasting?

At each moment, in both my broadcast career and that of a university professor, I always made time to pause and savor the moment. To be grateful for all the things I had.

I’ve been retired since 2017, and when people ask me how I am doing, my answer is always the same:

I’m living my BEST Life!

The Bottom Line

In the end, there are really only two ways to be happy in life.

1. You can get what you want.
2. You can want what you already have.

Spoiler Alert: Only 1 of these two strategies actually works. It’s called GRATITUDE.