What A Coffee Cup Can Do

The Way I See It #43
"My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short."

-- Armistead Maupin
author, Tales of the City series and The Night Listener

Sometime late last year, Starbucks decided to print on their cups quotes from almost everyone. Whether famous or not, you may be able to see what's on others' mind in print. They are soliciting ideas and thoughts; the only caveat is, once accepted, it becomes Starbucks' property.

Here are some of the good ones:

They told you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What they failed to tell you is that it is best seen with the eyes closed. What you look like isn't important. What is important is who you are inside and the choices you are making in your life.-- Tiana Tozer, 1992 Paralympic Silver Medalist and 1996 Paralympic Bronze Medalist Women's Wheelchair Basketball, Portland OR

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.-- Anne Morriss, Boston MA

But Armistead Maupin's struck a chord for a friend. He decided to come out to his family last week. Talk about a life-changing event! And from what he says, everything's all good. Mr Maupin's quote "inspired" him to finally tell the truth about himself to the people he is most afraid.

Sometimes you don't know what will trigger someone to do something: to make a change, to seek a higher level of self actualization, to be a positive influence.

All I know is it can be found sometimes in a coffee cup.