Half-full or Half-Empty?
Consider using a different container
Introduction
Is life a glass? If so, do you see it as half-full or half-empty? As I pondered this age-old question I found myself questioning the question. Please join me as I contemplate the question of life’s fullness.
A Minute of Motivation
Life is Too Short
How many days are left in your life? This is an unanswerable question. You could have decades left to live or you could have minutes. In either case, the total time we each have is limited.
Therefore, life is too short to miss a chance to hug someone you care about; to wear clothes you don’t like; to eat food you can’t stand; to miss the unique beauty of today; not to tell someone important to you that you care about them. Life is too short to be unhappy any longer or more often than necessary; to carry resentment against anyone, including yourself; to live with regrets of yesterday; or to worry about tomorrow.
Life is too short to waste any moment of it.
Live your life in the best and fullest way possible.
Fill this moment with gratitude, joy, and the people who matter to you.
Note. Originally published in 1992.
Enjoy Life More
The Wrong Container
Is your glass half-full or half-empty? The challenge posed by this question is about perception. When considering the “good” and the “bad” in life, which is your focus?
It’s not a bad question but perhaps the wrong container. Is life a glass to be filled and emptied? Does every life only have the possibility of being half-used?
Perhaps a better container as a way of viewing life’s fullness isn’t a container at all. Life is only lived one moment at a time. How full can a moment be?
Enjoying life more happens only in a moment. This moment. Gratitude and focus bring fullness into each moment. Moments are missed when we are moving too fast. A missed moment was an empty one.
Moments are empty when we’re not paying attention. A distracted moment is an empty one.
A moment filled with worry or regret is an empty moment.
Moments don’t have to be incomplete or empty. This moment, and the next, can be full. Practice gratitude. Slow down and focus on people. Notice beauty. Enjoy life more by fully experiencing each moment.
Faith Corner
“My cup overflows” Psalm 23: 5
As I pondered a glass as a metaphor for life, I began to wonder if the question of “half-full or half-empty” was about perception of contents. This led me to wonder if the metaphor of a glass was inaccurate; perhaps a different container would serve as a better metaphor for life? As I pondered the container, I came to the conclusion that a moment was a better container than a glass.
The ancient text of Psalm 23, which starts with “The Lord is my Shepherd,” includes a metaphor of a cup, not a glass. And this cup isn’t half-full OR half-empty, but overflowing.
The context around the phrase “my cup overflows” provides the reasons for a moment of life, a cup, for which the blessings are more than the container can hold. The cup is overflowing because of the writer’s rich awareness of the Lord’s care. This care, as described in the popular Psalm, includes rest, guidance, protection, correction, goodness, and mercy.
Dear Lord, You fill my cup to overflowing with abundant blessings but sometimes I don’t notice. Distracted by what I think is missing in my life, or distracted by worries of tomorrow or regrets of yesterday, I fail to see the rich ways you are blessing me right now. Help me to focus on the rest, guidance, protection, correction, goodness, and mercy Your amazing care provides for me. My cup overflows; help me experience Your abundance. Amen.
Poetry Pause
Blessings
Blessings abound all around us.
Some are seen; Some are unseen.
Sunshine and rain; Joy and sorrow –
All delivered by the Hands of Love.
Wind and snow, Calm and storm,
Seasons of our lives,
Designed by the Designer;
A rhythm of grace and love.
Thanks arise from hearts surrendered.
Friends supportive and Presence unending.
We are Blessed.
We are Blessed.
We are Blessed!
Amen!
By Cindy and David MacGregor with our friends Jan and Dave, October 23, 2020.
Note. This poem was written by me, my husband, and our friends Jan and Dave during a camping trip. It was rainy and 40 degrees outside. As we sheltered in our motor-home, we took turns adding a line to this poem.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Just One Day
My son just visited us and our home. He used to live here 365 days a year. Now, with a busy schedule and a home far away, he carved out one day for us to be together in our home. Just the three of us. Just one day.
And it was incredible! We talked, we ate, we laughed, and we stayed up too late. I cherished every moment. It was a full and wonderful time together. Just one day.
If you’re reading this and your children still live with you I urge you to cherish the time, no matter how tired or annoyed you are. It’s probably hard to imagine them living far away and your life being full of other things, but not full of them. Time with a child, whether little or all grown-up, is so full! Enjoy it today.
Just one day.
And then enjoy it again tomorrow, for just one day.
Dear Dr. Mac
You can write to me at: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!