Enjoy Your Hot Chocolate

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 some refreshments,
the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned
with a large pot of hot chocolate 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 chocolate.

When each of his former students had a cup 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
chocolate. In fact, the cup merely disguises or
dresses up what we drink. What each of you really
wanted was hot chocolate, not a cup, but you
instinctively went for the best cups. Then you began
eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is hot chocolate. 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 hot chocolate that God has
provided us. God makes the chocolate, but he
does not supply the cups. Enjoy your chocolate!"

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