Cups and Coffee

A little long, but well worth the read ...

At a High School Reunion, a group of successful alumni—now doctors, lawyers, business owners—decided to visit their favorite  teacher. They chatted about their careers and families, but soon the conversation shifted to life’s pressures, stress, and constant chasing after more.

After listening for a while, their teacher smiled and said, “Hold on a minute. I’ll go make us some coffee.”

He came back with a large pot and a tray full of cups—none of them matching. Some were fine porcelain, others were plain ceramic, a few were chipped glass mugs, and one even looked like it came from a diner. As everyone reached for a cup, the professor watched in silence. Once they all had coffee in hand, he said:
 
“Notice what just happened. Most of you instinctively reached for the nicest cups—leaving behind the simpler ones. It’s normal to want the best for ourselves, but that’s often where the stress begins.”

He gestured toward the cups.

“The cup doesn’t make the coffee taste any better. What you really wanted was the coffee. But you still focused on the cup.”

Then he paused.

“Life is the coffee. Your job, your house, your income, your status—those are just cups. They help contain life, but they don’t define it. And the trouble is, the more we focus on the cup, the more we miss out on the coffee.”

What are you focused on?