| |
 |
|
|
|
The Zen of Coffee
Do you have a favorite story you'd like to add to our "Zen of Coffee" page?
Send it to us here.
LIFE IS THE COFFEE
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The 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, 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 one. 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 no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just m,ore 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 the jobs, houses, cars, things, 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 God has provided us. God brews the coffee, not the cups...Enjoy your coffee."
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections. Live in peace and peace will live in you."
IN THE TEST KITCHEN OF LIFE
A young woman was complaining to her father about how difficult her life had become. He said nothing, but took her to the kitchen and set three pans of water to boiling. to the first pan, he added carrots; to the second , eggs; and to the third, ground coffee. After all three had cooked, he put their contents into separate bowls and asked his daughter to cut into the eggs and carrots and smell the coffee. "What does this all mean?" she asked impatiently.
"Each food," he said, "teaches us something about facing adversity, as represented by the boiling water." The carrot went in hard but came out soft and weak. The eggs went in fragile but came out hardened. The coffee, however, changed the water to something better.
"Which will you be like as you face life?" he asked. Will you give up, become hard—or transform adversity into triumph? As the "chef" of your own life, what will you bring to the table?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
