It's All About Coffee

 

Greenland farm, Nelliyampathy

Many years ago (Jan 2011 to be precise) I received an email forward titled - It's all about coffee. Once in a while I go back and read the note to put things (call it life) back in perspective.  I share the story below and also a sequel I wrote for it under a spell of inspiration.

Story

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 with the beverage and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal,  some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to  help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup 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.  What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each others 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.

Coffee again

The students went back to their homes enlightened and happy for some time but were soon caught up in the mesh of life and returned to their professor who by now became famous as the coffee-guru.

The professor was still doing nothing more than preparing coffee when the students reached his home. So he asked them: "What do you see ?"

The answer was: "You are making coffee. But this time we will not make the mistake of confusing coffee for the cup."

The professor said: "I'm glad you haven't forgotten the last lesson but I want to know do you see something more than that ?"

Student 1: "No"

Professor: "Did you notice the flames, the pot, the water and the coffee beans ?"

Student 2: "Yes. But what about it ?"

Professor: "Did you see the pot has become black because of the flames and the water is boiling?"

Student 3: "Isn't that how it is supposed to be? Is old age catching up with you ?"

Professor: "I want you to notice the effect of heat on the 3 items. The pot turned black, the water is seething and boiling. The coffee beans are releasing aroma, taste and color because of the heat.

How do you want to be in the heat of life ? Rigid like the pot and get blackened ? Or like the water and seethe and boil ? Or like the coffee which gives out its very essence due to the heat and adds flavor, aroma and color to what is around it ?"

PS. Originally published on December 8, 2015 on LinkedIn.