It’s always a bit unsettling when you notice something is empty, right? Or is it an opportunity for further enrichment?

Back in the day when I was attending college in Lafayette, Louisiana, we planned a road adventure to see the Grand Canyon. Not familiar with the desert southwest, I didn’t pay attention or plan gas stops.

Suddenly, I noticed our gas tank was almost empty. Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere, and my anxiety rose dramatically. Then thankfully, a little town appeared, and I pulled into the local gas station.

The gas station attendant — a very young fellow — came out to offer his services, and I asked him to fill our gas tank. Not only did he do that service, but he thought he would also check our radiator fluid. I returned to our car just as he opened the radiator cap, and a stream of steam exploded from the radiator. Thinking he knew how to solve the issue, I left him alone.

All he did was put in water and no coolant. Naturally, upon driving along the way, the engine began to overheat. No cities or help around so I pulled into a ranch. There was no one around so no help there. What I leaned upon leaving the ranch was to drive about 50 miles per hour and all seemed alright at that speed.

OK, so my gas tank was empty. What did I learn? Give me my gas but leave my radiator alone! You see, there’s some learning during a period of emptiness.

Now a question for you. Is your glass of life half empty or half full? How do you react to emptiness during your journey of life? Do you accept the empty period and try to refill your wishes or do you live the half full experience?

How do we accept the horrible ineptness in our country today? Perhaps a better question is how can we again fill our country’s glass with decency and civility?

I fall back on three words: faith, hope and love. I believe we will band together to save our democratic values. There’s hope our bonding doesn’t happen too late, and that love, kindness and a sense of common good will prevail.

In case you haven’t noticed, a bottle of something always becomes empty. How soon that happens depends on you and those around you. Here is when emptiness leads to a full glass.

It means you now have the opportunity to open a new bottle of your favorite beverage again! Then, you can continue to enjoy and taste the goodness that you believe is in the liquid, and hope it continues for along time as you love the beverage. And if you share that goodness, your glass of life becomes even fuller.

If you are feeling empty, reach out to someone who has faith in you, who hopes the best for you and who loves you. You will never be disappointed.

May your glass of life always be refilled by your support network.

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!