Life is Like Tea in a Cup meant for Coffee

I am glad I am not an engineer or else the allegory would definitely be “Life is like Water in a Glass meant for Wine!”

Isn’t it the truth that we all are in containers that may be not meant for us? A letter from a friend recently put me to thought - Why do we feel restless even in the cushiest life; especially the urban upper middle class where mostly life is a routine with enough money to indulge and invest?

Yet there is restlessness.

I do believe that lack of restlessness is an issue which means death after all that is when we all finally Rest in Peace but we all strive to achieve peace and contentment while living. How is it possible? It is generally said that creative people are restless. For that matter, all human kind is restless in some way or else. So as you guessed rightly Man is a Creative Being! The problem is in due course of time from creators we became the implementers and then controllers. Today most of the men try and control their restlessness. Like Tea we have been poured into a Coffee Mug and we are trying to make ourselves believe we are coffee.

How can we be coffee only because the label outside says so? For ages we have been confused like this. For instance you feel like having tea. You brew tea leaves with a dash of cardamom or ginger for flavour, add just enough milk to taste and colour and give it boil. Your perfect cuppa is ready to pour. And then you do the ultimate blunder – you pour it in a Coffee Mug!

The tea is now confused. You as the Cup Bearer are confused. Why did you pick a Coffee Mug when you always drink tea? Deep down you know it is tea but you doubt your belief just because the Mug says it is coffee. And then you do not like your coffee because it doesn’t taste right.

Similarly there is Life – we all are fed to believe that that label is right while the true assessment of self should be based on constituents. Some of us are lucky to have detached ourselves from the label half way through life but it takes a life time for most of us to realize we were the freshly brewed masala chai. And by then the steam has died down.

So forget the label on the mug; gather the constituents of your beverage, brew, taste and then decide -

Is it meant to be tea or coffee?