A Hot Mess: A Different Perspective

In my last post, A Hot Mess, I explained how making coffee when the top is still on the travel mug is a bad idea. Today, I would like to revisit that same mess that was made but from a different outlook. 

This week, I thought about how that cup represents people today. I have several coffee cups and travel mugs, but I tend to use the same ones most of the time. My favorite travel mug has pictures of my wife and grandkids. My favorite cups to use at home are from Spain and France. While I do not use these exclusively, I use them more than the rest. 

Every morning I drink coffee on the way to work. All of the travel mugs I use have lids, and all hold at least 12 ounces of coffee. More than anything, the cup is a tool used for a fundamental purpose. That is if you believe holding coffee so I can drink it is important. However, coffee mugs do not serve their purpose until there is coffee poured into them. 

We may not realize that we all serve a purpose, but we do. Some of us may not even know what that purpose is yet. Some of us overthink our mission and get frustrated when we don’t come up with a purpose that seems important to us. Your purpose may not be as crucial to you as it is to others.  Some reasons for being here may be to help others, to cause some to laugh or enjoy life, or to make this world a better place.  There are many reasons to live. Like the coffee mug, we just need to be there ready to be put to use. 

Part of being a useful mug is to be empty until it is time to be used. No one wants to pour coffee into a mug that is filled with something else. Can you imagine a mug being filled with oil and then you add coffee to it before drinking? Yuck. That would be a problem.

The same is true of us. Sometimes we are filled and cannot be put to our proper use. We may have allowed ourselves to be filled with things like bitterness, anger, hatred, selfishness, or jealousy. It is hard to be useful when you are already full. 

Now, I would never allow oil to be poured into my coffee mugs. The same is true of my life. I need to make sure I don’t let things into my life that render me useless. I need to fill my life with things that can help me serve my purpose.  Things like love, joy, kindness, goodness, and self-control need to be poured into my life so I can do things like helping others or whatever. 

Everyone seems to take their coffee in different ways. Some people like cream and sugar. Some like it black. Some like it with more milk than coffee. My coffee cup needs to be filled with what will serve my preferred taste. 

I know a successful businessman who once said he would prefer to hire someone off the street with no college education that he could train himself. The college graduates came in with preconceived ideas, thinking they knew everything already and were not open to the ideas that were already working for the company. Those graduates were like cups that were full but did not serve the preferred purpose of the company. 

It is better to be an empty vessel that can be filled with what is useful to this life. 

2 Timothy 2:20-21(CSB)

“Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable use and some for dishonorable. So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

                               

Curling

This weekend the 2017 World Women's Curling Championships was on television. Being from the south where football reigns, I do not frequently watch this sport. The game appears easy enough to understand but seems to take a lot of balance, strategy, and an understanding of geometry. 

In an oversimplified explanation, someone slides a 40-pound stone down 150 feet of ice to reach a target or to knock another stone out of the way while two other people with brushes sweep the ice ahead of the stone to control the speed of the stone. 

I see a relationship between curling and everyday life.

We are the stone sliding through life. There is a destination or a goal that we are trying to reach. We rely on others to help us reach that goal. This explanation of life is also an oversimplification.

We do not all have the same goals in life. Goals for which we are aiming may include business success, better relationships, making the world a better place or fulfilling whatever we consider our purpose to be. 

The target is straight ahead of us. We just need to get there. The problem is life is like ice. It is slippery. The possibility of staying on course for the whole trip is difficult. Distractions try to pull us off course or to slow us down. There are things that we do that may stop us from getting to the target. Knock the distractions blocking you from your goal out of the way.

We need assistance to reach our goals. Some people have lists to keep them focused. Others have people around them to encourage them to stay on track. Some rely on God and the scriptures to show them the correct way to go.

Whatever your purpose in life is, be careful not to just slide on the ice without assistance or direction. Let something or someone help guide you. Life is a team sport. Assist others with their goals and allow others to help you fulfill yours. No one reaches his or her destination alone. 

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

I am not a supporter of Daylight Savings Time. In fact, I hate it. Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada started this in 1908. Germany was the first country to use it so they could conserve fuel during the war in 1916. Over 70 countries currently use the time change. The point is to make better use of the natural daylight.  

I do not know many people that enjoy changing the clocks twice a year. Laziness is not why they hate it. It is the losing an hour of sleep and regaining it months later. It throws people out of their routines. People appear more tired. Our bodies seem to take longer to adjust. 

In fact, we do not actually save any time. You still have the same amount of time throughout the year. My question is simple. Is this something that we need to continue, or has it outlived its purpose? 

Journals have published articles about the effects of the time change. Groups have conducted studies on the subject. It appears that the time change sparks more heart attacks and strokes, more auto accidents, and a reduction in work productivity. 

Studies have been unable to show any significant energy savings as a result. Many people have voiced the preference to change the laws, but only Arizona and Hawaii do not change their clocks.  

To me, the idea of continuing Daylight Savings Time is madness. 

People and businesses often refuse to let go of ideas or practices that no longer prove beneficial. We are often stuck with the thought of "it is what we have always done." Maybe we need to look at the direction we are going and the methods we are using to see if they are helping or hurting our goals.

Technology, society, and circumstances can make what was once a necessity into something outdated and impractical. Yet, many people continue their journey but never accomplishing what they once would. 

I once heard a man say, "If the horse you are riding dies, get off the horse." That is great advice. There are committees, meetings, and business plans that should be extinct. Letting go may be hard to do. We should periodically look at what we do. If something is not working, adjust it. Get rid of ideas that are no longer viable. There may be a better idea out there that will help you achieve your goals. 

Do not let pride get in the way. It may have been your idea, but it is more important to complete your purpose than to receive credit for a failed mission. If you cannot see why things are not moving in the right direction, ask others for the perspective. Others may see what you cannot.