Cup of Contentment

From the Daniloff Tarot, the Seven of Cups; from the Kuan Yin Sticks, Verse 55:

          Daniloff's selection of cups is an interesting group. The cup with the face and the crescent seems to represent spiritual mysticism; the snake around the martini glass implies revenge; and the cornucopia suggests material abundance and good health. The stein in the shape of a castle symbolizes a home and family; the skull cup and wreath represent the honor given to heroes and martyrs; and the keg suggests a never-ending supply of pleasures in a variety of forms. In the center is a covered chalice (implying purity) circled by an ouroboros of serpent and dragon (indicating an eternal cycle). What is in that central cup that could be so untouched by ever-changing, external events? I would theorize it is the ability to be content, always seeing a glass half full, no matter what life serves up.
          Verse 55 reads:

As bamboo poles standing in a line lead to a large spring, generation after generation prospers and moves on. As long as a man remains gentle and virtuous, whatever he wishes will come to hand.

I was raised by a man full of rage, but I spent my earliest years with a grandfather who was kind and soft-spoken. During my teen years I embodied the anger of my step-father, but a decade later I realized that such aggression and hatred only creates more of the same. It begets a life filled with dissatisfaction and suffering. Yet when I consciously mirror my grandfather's behavior, I find in most cases the same tenderness and understanding reflected back to me. Contentment and happiness don't just show up on my doorstep; I mold them through my thoughts and actions.

If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox...If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow. ~ Dhammapada 1:1-2