Thursday, January 24, 2008

Life is a bowl of Ice Cream

A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general... Offering his guests ice cream, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large container of ice cream and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal -- some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh ice cream. When each of his former students had a cup of ice cream in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering... "You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems." He continued...''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the ice cream. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we eat. What each of you really wanted was ice cream, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups....'' ''Now consider this: Life is ice cream. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the ice cream that God has provided us... God makes the ice cream, but he does not supply the cups. Enjoy your ice cream!'' The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have ... So please remember:

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care Deeply.
Speak Kindly.

And remember -- the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

3 comments:

Dan Ward said...

mmmmm. Ice Cream.

Thanks for the story Dad.

David said...

Nice thought.
The richest person is the one who needs the least.

I would say for root beer it is much better in a frosty mug than a paper cup. But I have a frosty mug at home so I rich in root beer.

Anonymous said...

The best part about life is living it and trying to enjoy the journey.