The Overflowing Teacup
You have likely heard the story of the Zen master and the overflowing teacup. In the story, an important man comes to the Zen master requesting the master to “open my mind to enlightenment.” The Zen master suggests discussing this over a cup of tea and proceeds to pour the tea to overflowing, to the point of spilling onto the table and onto the man’s robe. The Zen master stops pouring and hits the man with the ol’ “You are like this tea cup, so full that nothing more can be added. Come back to me when the cup is empty. Come back to me with an empty mind.”
The question: How full is YOUR tea cup?
The Nourished Planner in their article 5 Ways to Create Margin in Life summarizes my life nicely,
The way of the world is often do more, be more, have more. So we find ourselves stuck in a constant state of busy, rushing from one place to another, nearly suffocating in our work load, let alone family and friend commitments. Yet we wear busyness like a badge of honor. It seems to be some kind of unspoken reality that busyness is a sign of success or prestige, but what we are feeling is much less than that. Stress. Burn-out. Frustration. Lack of Happiness.
Does this resonate with you? Do you have Margin in YOUR life?
MARGIN – there are many uses of this word - from the unused part of a printed page to the difference between the resale price and the cost to produce a piece of merchandise. For our “teacup” discussion, let’s use Merriam-Websters definition: a spare amount or measure or degree allowed or given for contingencies or special situations. I can confess to you that when I am feeling stressed, frustrated and unhappy, I am also living with little or no margin in my life.
The Zen master’s advice makes me think of an exchange Jesus has with a seeker. The seeker asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is and Jesus replies with, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…” and “Love your neighbor as yourself…” Matt 22:36-39 NIV. This advice reminds me that I can’t provide cheerful service to my neighbor if I am not healthy myself – in mind, body, and spirit!
So, the question for you: How full is YOUR tea cup? Is there margin in your life?
PS. Since we are discussing Tea Cups, I feel obliged to leave you with 2 pieces of wisdom.
The first comes from the 1987 movie Roxanne starring Steve Martin as local fire chief C.D. Bales. One night C.D. is woo-ing Roxanne from outside her bedroom window and he hits her with, “Why should we SIP from the teacup when we can DRINK from the river?” How bold are your dreams? Are you drinking from the river?
The second is wisdom from Unc in the Charles Martins book Chasing Fireflies. Unc advises, if we are drinking from the river, “make sure you are upriver from the herd.”