Monday, May 6, 2024

Tired of Drinking the Kool-Aid? Is your glass half empty or half full?


 Who’s Tired of drinking the Kool-aid?


Worldwide we all have been drinking the Kool-Aid for almost a century.  It has been97 years since eddy Perkins from Hastings Nebraska invented the stuff by experimenting in his mother’s kitchen and somehow General Mills and now Kraft have been able to sell a colored, sort of flavored, powder that really only has somewhat of a taste due to the massive portion of sugar that gets added when you make it or in the case of “sugar-free” the amount of artificial sweeteners in the stuff.  While it generally has a great reputation among parents because it’s cheaper and marginally better than. Straight up pop for kids has been used in one of the largest mass cult based “suicides?” In history.  So..maybe our thinking on Kool-Aid is divided?  

But moving from the drink to the phrase… it’s part of seeking peace and joy to ask oneself “am I comfortable with what I believe?”  Also we often ask “what about all the Kool-Aid I’ve been given over all the past experiences in life and is it time to stop just drinking the same stuff from the same sources?  Well that is certainly something to ponder and maybe we could start by mixing up some grape (my personal favorite) and pouring it in a glass… but wait  a full glass may have way too much sugar in it so let’s stop at about half a glass alright?


Oh No!! Now we fall into the classic  Is the glass half empty or half full puzzle?  Which brings us around to another insight into seeking peace and joy.  

Inevitably  we fall into this debte/argument because the answer depends upon your perspective.  Like whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.  Alas my friends.. the real question is “Why is it so important to hang on to this dualistic debate.  Isn’t it time to ask a few deeper questions—like what would it take to stop using our valuable time on such matters?  This whole debate gets settled or moved forward in no fewer than 4 ways.


First, why is it so hard to either fillthe. Glass up or empty it rather than starting an argument?  Second, Does it matter how much is in the glass if no one is going thirsty?  If you count air as a valuable substance on the planet—and most folks really wouldn’t do well without it—isn’t the glass always full or overflowing?  Finally, is the person or people in charge of choosing the glass creating a problem that might not exist with a little forethought?


Bottom line.. Kool-Aid tastes great if you like sugar and there are worse things for your health over time.. for example bacon is sugar free?  Oh and no big arguments seem to happen over Kool-aid because there are enough flavors for everyone and if the person next to you picks that black cherry instead.. well nobody gets all bent out of shape.  Also maybe we might start thinking about asking different questions  when it comes to the things we choose to argue about.  Maybe the glass is neither  half empty nor half full.  Maybe we need to figure out what is important to say is in the glass, how we are going to share what’s in there, and also maybe we could rethink what size glass we. Really need so that everyone has enough to drink?  

Sometimes fighting about the answers is not as worthwhile as finding some different questions? 

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