Years after becoming an adult, it became clear that having a half empty glass is the gift of a lifetime, and there is nothing pessimistic about it. That is of course as long as it is a 4 inch tall cartoon jelly glass, which once offered sweetness to many a peanut butter sandwich or pile of warm toast, as well as being the container for the cold milk needed to wash them down.

Simple things in life are taken for granted during the race to finish first with the most toys and the highest total; we forget they are what got us there in the first place. Indian Jones knew the Holy Grail wasn’t a jewel encrusted goblet, but instead the simple cup of a carpenter and he chose wisely. Pity the same can’t be said for most of the real human race.

Going into a home and not just a house, there will be mismatched flatware and dishes, maybe even a few jelly glasses in the cupboard, along with assorted coffee mugs (the ones that say Best Boss, I Love Grandma or have assorted colors and pictures are the giveaway). The meals they’ve supported, the conversation and laughter they’ve heard and of course, the hands that washed them either for an allowance or in a chore of love gave them a value surpassing any holy grail. You see they bring love to life, which in turn adds stability to the foundation of a home keeping both door and mind open. Indeed the half empty is not what is missing, but what has been enjoyed gained and learned making all the difference in life.

The next time you are in a restaurant, really look at the sterility of the shining commercial fixtures you are paying to enjoy. The dishes and glasses may have been used by the affluent and famous, but they also have also been run through showers of scalding heat, in an uncaring routine for the next use. Compare your life and ask if those same values apply and you or if sadly you feel at home there. I hope that you can’t wait to get home, where nothing compares to a small kitchen table and leftovers, which come with warm conversation, memories and a few crumbs on the floor.

Celebrate the half empty in your life and all that it made you. Celebrate your half empty through the emotions and efforts of a family, where you matter both good and bad. Celebrate the simple half empty as  confirmation  you are that much closer to the end of your journey, and you’ve lived life the best way you could knowing the value between being half full of nothing and half empty due to experience, love and satisfaction.

It would be simplistic if I were to say the best way to keep from getting jammed up in life is to live away from glass houses, preserving the values set out by your parents and family. Nevertheless, that is what eventually sticks to our soul in the long run, keeping us from running on empty, even if the glass happily is. Maybe that is also what’s wrong with society anymore, there aren’t enough jelly glasses and people have no place to hold any human kindness so it can eventually pour out, they just never learned what cup to use.