I’ve been “tagged” by Billy Smith to participate in an exploration, started by Terry Starbucker, of how we view the world and ourselves, using the glass half full/half empty metaphor. I found it interesting to discover how difficult it was to get this right, and am quite sure I haven’t yet done that, but here goes anyway:
How full is your glass?
Never quite full enough.
Why? I am fully satisfied that the key component of the contents of this glass give abundant cause for optimism, but that optimism generates hope and ambition, seeking out more empty space to fill, pessimism to dispel.
What kind of glass is it?
Paper.
Why? There is virtually no aspect of the vessel I am that is distinguished by either privilege or deprivation. The personal characteristics of my family are peerless, but my heritage is pretty ordinary American stock and my background is pretty ordinary American experience: unprepossessing about its past, but always presumptive of its right, ability, and duty to pursue a future of its own making. I have had great fortune in being able to enjoy intimate and meaningful acquaintances with many of the world’s great nations and cultures, and, quite literally, with princes and paupers around the globe. I have been enriched both by this exposure, and by what it has taught me about the greatness of my own nation and culture. Paper, please.
What’s in the glass?
Columbian coffee: hot, black, strong, no sugar.
Why? Ordinary, but deep and powerful. Its rich aroma permeates the empty space above, filling it with hope and potential, making a oneness of the full and the empty, a wholeness of all the space in the cup, evoking an eternal struggle of promise for meaning and fulfilment, drawn beyond its own frontiers by the push and pull of the ways of the world, the peculiar physics of human interaction.
There you have it.
I’ll pass this one along from here: Robin, Luiz, Dave, David - what are your answers to these questions? While I know he has some new and interesting endeavors on his plate right about now, I’d love to hear The Specialist’s take on this at some point, also.
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2 Comments
Jim, thanks for participating in this meme - very well done. You did get this right! Really enjoyed reading it. I’m subscribing to your feed so I can read more. Thanks again and all the best.
Great reading your meme!! I like why you chose black coffee.
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[...] Some see abundance which overflowth. While others see the glass as having room for more. And so began the Starbucker Meme, with Terry and his half-full, clear shot glass. [...]
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