Thursday, March 10, 2016


A colleague of mine used to ask, "What do you call a 55-gallon drum of raw sewage with one glass of red wine added?," and then answer his own question, "A 55-gallon drum of raw sewage."

Then he would ask, What do you call a 55-gallon drum of red wine with one glass of raw sewage added?," and he would answer, "A 55-gallon drum of raw sewage."

His point, as I took it, is our tendency to focus on the negative.  While I don't advocate drinking from a 55-gallon drum of red wine with one glass or raw sewage added (I wouldn't advocate drinking any wine that came in 55-gallon drums, for that matter), we shouldn't lose sight of the positive in our lives when faced with adversity or difficulty, that glass of raw sewage that keeps getting dumped into our metaphorical drums. 

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