Take it ezee...

Some time back I heard a story. It was titled, by the orator, "The glass and the water within". I was very impressed by it and I am repeating it here.

 

There was this time when a learned man called upon his students to teach them a valuable lesson of life. He called them over to his place, which was conveniently situated on the 10th floor of a multi-storied building (and the lift was not working).

 

The poor students walked all the way up. They were tired and thirsty. The learned man opened the door with a polite smile and a caring look. He called them all into his house and offered them water. There were as many glasses as there were students, but each glass was different. Some were made of clay and looked old and worn out, some were made of the finest cut glass in the world, some others were made of steel, and one each was mad from gold and silver. Some of the glasses were revoulting and some were exquisite.

 

The students all took glasses and drank the water. The best glasses got taken first. The older and poorer looking ones got left till the end. They were taken reluctantly. The moment the last student kept his glass down after downing the water, the learned man asked them all to sit down and then he spoke softly.

 

He said, "You all wanted water after that long and tiring climb to my house, but each one of you wanted the best glass to drink the water in. The older, dilapidated glasses was not wanted if avoidable. Right?"

 

"Yes, why should we drink water from glasses that only the underpriveliged would use", said one of his students, followed by vigourous nodding from all the others.

 

"That is what I would like to change today", the leaned man retorted, "All that you wanted was water and the water came from the same source. But all that you were interested in was the way the glass looked. That is how life is. You loose focus on what is important to you, and rather look at what you think should be important."

 

"What do you mean?" they asked in chorus.

 

"Life is what I am talking about. Your job, your salary, the size of your house, the cost of your automobile and so on and so forth, are merely the glass that will allow you to hold the water. What is the water? THAT is for each one of you to figure on your own. The water of each person is different, is unique, just like each person is unique. But remember to shift the focus from the glass, in other words the materialistic things in life, to the water, that SOMETHING each one of you will have to figure out, that will quench your thirst for a life well lived, the thirst for a satisfying lifetime rather than mere existence."

 

"Go find your water, 'coz without that, your glasses are empty." He concluded.

 

I am in awe of the depth and meaning of this story. Each time I hear this I interpret it differently. I love this story. And if I may add to this story, there is one line that is echoing in my mind right now.