The full cup, shaken
in the throes of joy, spills sweet water
and fills the half-empty cups
around it.
Know this:
joy did not come
because the cup was full.
Joy flows from a different source.
Even half-empty cups overflow
when shaken by laughter.
Like an avalanche, a tidal wave,
an earthquake, a hurricane,
no, even stronger than these
is happiness;
yet it is capable of such tenderness.
Do not keep the sweet water
for yourself —
cups are temporary vessels
and what flows out
flows back in.
Allow yourself to be shaken
and know that all gifts
are unending and infinite.