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

When all the students had a cup of coffee 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 normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.’ God brews the coffee, not the cups…..Enjoy your coffee!

‘The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.’

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.
You are the miracle, my friend,
Your life either shines a light – or casts a shadow.
‘The purpose of life is to live life with purpose’

This story has made me think and reflect A LOT. Very often we are so caught up in what we don’t have in life, thus we easily forget what we actually have. Life is not supposed to be perfect, neither are people, therefore we must accept life, with all its challenges, hurdles, tests and tribulations; similarly, we must accept people with all the challenges they give us as well, especially those who have a special place and position in our lives and hearts. Of course this is something very difficult to internalize and implement, and its a constant struggle for us,  however we have to keep trying and trying. Thinking too much about what is to come, and what we don’t have makes us lose sight of the bigger picture, and the bigger purpose in life we are all trying to achieve. My best friend always says to me “live in the moment”, and this is a strategy I have started to implement which is working quite well. It’s all about letting go of our fears, anxieties and worries about what’s to come tomorrow.  At the end of the day,  we are all successful in different ways; Allah gives us success in different ways and through different things. Sometimes, we might see ourselves as a failure just because we do not have XYZ in our lives, yet, we do not know how we are affecting and impacting others, and helping them by just being there in their lives. “Your life either shines a light, or casts a shadow”.

May Allah make us happy with what we have and with what we don’t have in life. Amin!