"The Wisdom of Hot Chocolate"

By Clint Cox

I am not a coffee drinker. Apparently it is not a genetic trait because my dad could drink coffee all night long. I tried to learn to drink coffee when I worked the midnight shift as a correctional officer, but I just did not care for the taste. When I took little packets of instant hot chocolate, I got a pretty good ragging from my co-worker correctional officers. They did not see hot chocolate as being very manly. Especially when I messed up and took the packets with the little marsh mellows in it.

I’ve always liked hot chocolate and my wife forwarded an e-mail to me recently. She obviously felt that I could benefit from the message. After reading it I felt compelled to share a slightly modified version with our readers. I think we could all benefit from "The Wisdom of Hot Chocolate"

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, had gathered for a reunion and went to visit an old professor who was now retired. During the visit the conversation turned to complaints about the stress of the graduate’s work, lives and relationships.

The old professor went to the kitchen and returned with a pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups. Some cups were porcelain, some glass and some crystal. Some were plain looking while others were expensive and exquisite looking. He invited each of his former students to have a cup of hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in their hand, the wise old professor started to share his thoughts.

"Notice that all of the nice looking and expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheaper looking cups. While it is normal to want the best, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cups add nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases the cups are more expensive and even hide what we are drinking. What you really wanted is the hot chocolate. You did not want the cup but you consciously choose the best looking cups. And soon you began to eye one another’s cups.

Now consider this. Life is like the hot chocolate. Your jobs, your money and your position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup does not define nor does it change the quality of life you are living. By concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has given us.

Always remember this, God brews the hot chocolate. He does not choose the cup. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything they have.
So Simply Put…Live Simple…Love Generously…Care Deeply…Speak Kindly… Enjoy your hot chocolate…And leave the rest to God."

From the front porch: Coach said the richest person is not the one who has the most but the one who needs the least.