Russell A. Cardwell Online

You always hear the saying, “The optimist sees the glass as half full, and the pessimist sees the glass as half empty. Which one are you?”

My answer is, “Neither.” Both answers are correct. The glass is half empty and half full. There may even be several other correct answers. If you settle for the first right answer, you’ve seriously short-changed yourself. Always look for the next right answer. Then you have choices. You can pick the one that best suits the circumstances.

To promote the notion that it is best to see the glass as half full is foolish and irresponsible. It leads to the absurd attitude that things are getting better and better. But things are not going to get better unless you have identified the needs and are prepared to address them. The glass is not going to fill itself. Unless you have recognized that the glass is half empty and are prepared to remedy the problem, it will never be filled.

Furthermore, not only may there be more than one right answer, there may be more than one desirable goal. Do you want the glass to be full, or do you want the glass to be empty? Or do you want the glass to be partly full and partly empty? All of these may be desirable objectives for different people or in different circumstances.

And if you’ve been mowing the lawn on a hot day, will you be happier with a full glass of ice cold lemonade, or an empty glass of ice cold lemonade? If you have a full glass, you are still thirsty. If what you desire is relief from your thirst, then what you want is an empty glass. You want that lemonade inside you.

This is a common problem in American culture. People seem to be obsessed with having the full glass. What if we lived our lives in search of the empty glass? Think of the old Zen parable “If you want me to fill your cup, you must first empty it.” Why don’t we drink every glass that comes to us. Drink it to the full. Drain it dry.

How do we approach God. Do we come to Him with our glasses full, our glasses empty?

• Deferred Interest
• How come?
• Outside In
• Empty Hands
• Worry Does Not Empty Tomorrow. . .