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Imagine Yourself In A Cup

Torture.

By Bianca WilsonPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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You are in a cup.

You may not realize it now but you have a cup the same age as you, one could even argue that it came with you the moment you were born.

-No, it's inside of you.

-No, you're inside of it.

Just as every child is at the mercy of their own parent's ignorance and temperament, so are we. Souls steeped in the flavor of our own cups.

Not all cups are created equal.

Cups can only hold a certain amount before they break.

Years will fly by, within each one, something new is added to your cup changing your taste.

For some, their cup contents stay the same, the flavor never changes because the same things are added each year.

For others, they overflow, too much substance, no room for liquids... or themselves.

Because you're in the cup, all you have to do is stay afloat.

Try not to drown. The bottom of the cup is where the flavor is concentrated. Will you be able to survive the taste there?

Some cups are hot to the touch.

Some cups are cold.

Some cups have a spicy broth.

Some cups are sour.

Some cups are bittersweet.

Some cups are sweet.

Some cups are bitter.

Some cups are tall.

Some cups are skinny.

Some cups are fat.

Some cups are broken.

Or at least, they might seem so.

Yet somehow they manage to hold every piece of themselves together.

Because the "you" placed inside it was not defeated.

Some cups are very thick.

Some cups have layers.

Some cups have statues poking out from the bottom.

Everyone has a cup.

Every time you grow a new thing goes in.

Something that represents you.

Are you a sweet, bitter or sour person?

Are you a loving, selfish or jealous person?

Are you all three? Only one? Or two? How many tastes do you have? Would you like to drink yourself?

Are you fearful? Anxious? Are you perfect? How do others see you? Do they see only the surface and not your depths?

How do you see yourself?

Can you only see the surface of your depths?

Do you represent yourself falsely?

Use a defense mechanism as a shield?

Do you not care how you affect others?

'Do you love yourself?

Do you love your neighbor?

Some cups are overflowing.

Some cups are halved.

Some cups have very little. Either they are too weak and can't contain too much, or their too small-hearted to take too much to heart.

But it's okay. As you grow, life offers an infinite refill.

New flavors are added as you go. Old flavors will fade and sink to the bottom.

They may overpower your original taste and make it disgusting.

So don't let them.

Make you feel full or empty.

You might hate living in your cup.

You might love living in your cup.

You might both love and hate your cup.

Your temperature constantly flickers back and forth between hot and cold.

because your cup contains bubbly water, you're irritable.

Now, Imagine.

You are in a cup.

What does this cup look like?

Is it nearly empty or is it full?

Does it have a lid or an open top?

Is your skin boiling from the heat?

Is your skin freezing from the cold?

Are you numb to it all? Have you been eroded by the elements?

Or...are you fine because it's lukewarm?

Are you floating?

Are you drowning?

Submerged by the waist like a stalk of tea leaves?

Or are you just there?...Clinging to the edge of your cup like a sliced fruit on a martini?

If you think your cup is an empty average cylindrical glass perhaps you can't see it yet. Everything about yourself is invisible to you. Or maybe everything's so transparent that you can't tell what is what. Like a tall glass of ice-cold water, hidden in a pool.

You get by through life thinking your life has no filter, you see through a perfect unbiased lens that allows you to make logical and rational decisions.

Is that a stretch?

Don't tell me that's all there is to you?

You are in a cup.

Only one.

By yourself.

This cup belongs to you and only you.

A cup that can only hold a certain amount, that amount is determined by you and how much stress you and your vessel can handle.

Your cup is filled new things; flavors. Ice, herbs, tapioca balls, spices, sweeteners, gelatin even.

Some cups may have no substance while others are overflowing.

Some cups have no spirit but others are overflowing.

Some cups may have no drive but others are overflowing

topped past the brim of their rims.

Even if you drown,

you will never die.

In your cup that is.

You'll only marinate like a boiled egg in tea and soy sauce. All the flavors of your personality will concentrate in you, and you become so stuck in your ways you won't see the misery you instill in others that have to tolerate as a problem at all.

But that doesn't mean you are to be hated. You're still a yummy person.

Some cups are cold to the touch.

Others are so hot they burn you to keep you away or leave you feeling warm. Others are so cold they send you running to seek the warmth of the hot. And the lukewarm will be liked by few.

Some cups are tall, fat, or skinny. One could argue its shape is the size of your heart. How loving are you?

Inside your cup, you sit.

Look around. Do you have a handle? - Can you be handled?

Some cups have straws and lids. Are you good at digging deep and sharing your deep dark emotions? Or do you put a lid on everything, bottling everything up until you explode?

Do not fear little tea bag. The taste of this beverage is decided by you. Make no mistake. At times we forget and feel as if we're a slave to our own emotions but it's only because you're letting yourself steep. Once you rise above it all, you'll finally be able to breathe while keeping your underside in its waters. To listen and learn to manage yourself.

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About the Creator

Bianca Wilson

Author of Dream of the Cabbage Spirit on Amazon. Webnovel writer, simmer, poet and daydreamer.

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