Enough is enough; thoughts on a glass half empty or half full.
I’ve heard the question since childhood and you probably have too, “Is a glass half empty or is it half full?”. I always accepted this question as an exercise in contemplating the duality of nature. This morning I read a quote by Oprah Winfrey that made me think differently.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.
“Is a glass half empty or is it half full?”
The question is about choice of perspective and attitude.
Consider when you choose to see the glass as half empty. What do you see when you pour a little more water into the glass?
The glass is still empty.
If you pour a little water out?
The glass is still empty.
Taken to the extreme this perspective becomes a binary outlook. Either the glass is completely full or it is empty. We ignore the water we have and focus on what we don’t have. This perspective creates suffering and desire when the glass is not full. Living with the chronic stress of desiring more, we succumb to our temptations and are unable to make our best decisions.
Now, consider when you choose to see the glass as half full. What do you see when you pour a little more water into the glass?
The glass is more full!
If you pour a little water out?
The glass is still full!
An opposing perspective, either the glass is completely empty or it is full. We appreciate what we have, eliminate suffering, and squelch our internal signal for more.
Imagine your life as the glass and what you have as the water in it.
In my experience, day to day life is not so extreme, but lies somewhere in the middle most of the time.
The glass is rarely completely full or empty.
Which perspective puts you control and leaves you in a better headspace most of the time?
