The other day I was thirsty, and I reached for the nightstand to grab my cup of water, but it was empty. A little backstory, I drink water every night before bed, during the night, and when I wake up. My intake has increased because I'm going through some changes. My hot flashes have kicked up a notch, and it feels like hell is near, but not to the point I would drink all my water before morning. Let me tell you, your girl was agitated because I was hot and had to go downstairs to the kitchen and feel the cold floors on my feet. All I wanted was to quench my thirst, roll over, and continue dreaming. However, that was impossible because how was I supposed to get something from a cup when it no longer existed? Which forced me to go into deep thought.
How often can we say we have allowed our cups to become empty because we were too busy pouring into others? Pouring consists of transferring something from one place to another. Most of us prefer to keep what's in our cups to ourselves; however, it becomes easier when we have too much at the top. I know I'm not the only person who has had too much in my cup and offered the person beside me to put some in theirs. I don't even think; I act. The truth is overflow is few and far between, and we will find ourselves in a position that can be detrimental because we treat our cups like they are to the top all the time. We become the shoulders for others to lean on while we can barely hold them up from the weight already carried. We become the researcher for everyone else when we can't find the answers for ourselves. We find ourselves giving more and more out of our cups until it's empty, and it's the middle of life, and we are figuring out how we will quench our thirst.
Be mindful of what you allow in your cup. Don't allow the things or people around you to deplete you of the substance that you hold. If you can share your overflow, that's fine, but leave some for yourself before singing "Can I Get a Refill by Elle Varner."
As you go about your week as yourself, these questions:
Do you have the capacity to pour into anyone else?
How do you manage the moments you allow yourself to become empty?
Are you running on overflow, or are you on the floor?