How do you see half a cup of liquid – is it half empty or half full? I guess this question has been around for such a long time, that it is a cliche. Our trained response will be half full of course. What if you don't like what is in the cup. Is it okay then to say that the cup is half empty? Or is it heaven forbid!
The crux of the matter is that perspective is a very powerful faculty of our mind. How we understand the world or view it in our mind determines how we act. If we like what is in the cup and decide that it is half full, well then at least we can enjoy that much, though we may be craving for more. If we despise what is in the cup, at least we can console ourself that it is not a full cup of torture!
Besides these two perspectives of halves there is another perspective that is often overlooked and even underestimated. That is that the cup is half filled, so there. It doesn't matter that it is half full or half empty. It is just plain fact that it is half filled and there is no need to console oneself one way or another to accept this fact. It is the brave spiritual perspective that the mystics know as, 'It is as it is'.
Holding this perspective, especially for serious events in our life is not as easy as it seems (that's why there is the half-full perspective). It does not allow room for blame transfer or recognition of responsibility to anyone but oneself. It takes stock of any kind of situation we may be in and puts us is the thick of with and if the situation is a mess, then we hand ourself the broom to clean it up. If the situation is good one, then we enjoy it to the fullest without any baggage of guilt or remorse. This is why this perspective is a challenge to hold, it means we have to be completely honest with ourselves, but it also entails a powerful feeling of freedom and clarity within ourself.
'It is as it is', is the perspective of the
enlightened ones, and this is why such
souls are sought after. The unreserved honesty in perspective that they hold is occasionally valuable to others who hold the consoling perspective of 'half-full'. The 'half-full' or the 'half-empty' perspectives are mirrors of some form of inability to accept fact.
One of the first lessons on spirituality that one learns in training with an enlightened master is to accept that whatever the content of ones mind, especially in their memory, as theirs and that it cannot be transfered to another person to be resolved, if it needs to be resolved. I am referring to those heavy memories that cause all sorts of problems and negativity within a person. The perspective of fact gives the ability to correct all wrongs by first pointing the finger to oneself. From this starting point one has the full power of the spiritual faculties of acceptance and forgiveness to put right all negatives and move forward positively. Any form of denial curtails spiritual power from utility.
I don't want to totally discredit the 'half-full', 'half-empty' perspectives. They are useful occasionally, where there is the need for consolation. However, if we are looking to live life to the fullest, we will have to gradually develop the courage to look at life as it is in all its grandioseness, ordinariness and even its rawness and accept it wholeheartedly. From this pinnacle, we can improve what we can and adapt to what is as it is.
