Spilled Milk

I saw this quote on Surjit’s invigorating blog last week and he graciously gave me permission to reproduce it here.

“We make them cry who care for us.
We cry for those who never care for us.
And we care for those who
will never cry for us.
This is the truth of life.
It is strange, but true.
Once you realise this, it is never
too late to change.”

I really think this speaks volumes. How much time and energy do we put into dead relationships or in the pursuit of a relationship that is not meant to be?

If it is meant to be, nothing will stop it. If it is not meant to be, nothing will bring it together.

Why cry over spilled milk? The origin of this saying most likely sprang from fairy lore. In order to attract fairies to a house, or appease the resident sprites, laying out food and cold creamy milk was common.

Whenever milk was spilled, it was considered an offering to the fairies. Because of the difficulty in feeding a family, normally wasting food was frowned upon, but the wastage of milk was always overlooked as an offering.

If the person spilling the milk was reprimanded, the scolder was seen as unwilling to give this gift, and let it be given only grudgingly. This was thought to anger the fairies and bring bad luck upon the house.

Today, the saying is updated to when you spill milk, no amount of tears will bring it back into the glass, so why waste time thinking about the loss?

The time we put into thinking about the milk that was spilled could be time we spend cultivating how to hold the glass and keep the milk in it, which really represents us, our ideals, goals and purpose.

Putting time into yourself and others who appreciate your gifts is far more important than crying over the past.

Move on gracefully, the glass you save may be your own.