The Cup of Life

 A king wanted to test the wisdom of two of the wisest men in his court.
 Two men were given a silver goblet, each containing equal portions of
 crystal clear spring water. Each was asked what he saw in the cup. The
 first man looked and said he saw a half-empty goblet. The second man
 replied, "My cup is half full." The men were then asked to drink the contents of the
 cup and relay how drinking the liquid made them feel. The first man
 complained that the water tasted fine, but there was not enough, he
 wanted more. The second man then took his turn. "The water tastes good
 and it has quenched my thirst."

 The king smiled and, finally, declared who was the wisest man in all
 his court. "It is you," he said, turning to the second man. Now I will
 tell you why. Looking to the first man, he said,"The cup represents one's life,
 the world in which you live. When you looked into the cup, what you saw
 was a cup half empty even though the goblet contained the finest spring water
 in all the land.Instead of sipping and finding satisfaction in its contents,
 you desired more.

 In life, you will never see all your many blessings, for your greed
 and lust for more will always cloud your thinking." The king then turned
 to the second man. "When you looked into the cup you saw a cup
 half full. So, too, will you regard life in
 this way, reaping all its many blessings and being grateful for the gifts
 bestowed upon you. A half full cup is not a full cup, yet its contents can still be
 sweet and satisfying." The moral of this story is that life is not always perfect,
 yet how we view our cup will determine what mind frame we have when
 sipping of its contents.

 How many people do you know who feel discontentment in their life?
 Someone ELSE has the perfect car, job, spouse, or girlfriend, and a
 generally much more exciting life. Yet, chances are they
 think YOUR life is better and that it is YOU with the perfect spouse, home, job,
 etc. Man, in all his fleshly desires, always wants more. Often this
 desire for more gets us into trouble, and sometimes we find ourselves
 losing the very precious things we thought we never had in the first place. 
 Today, look at your life with new eyes and begin to see the cup half full as
 opposed to half empty.
 Do you have food, shelter, clothing?
 Be thankful, for there are those in impoverished countries who don't even
 have these basic necessities. Do you have your health, friends,and loved ones who
 truly care about you? Be grateful, for there are those who lay in hospital beds,
 suffering and dying with no loved ones to visit and hold their hand.