In a place of discouragement, sorrowfully accessing everything as terrible, I’m suddenly aware that the perfect sip of coffee just grazed my lips and passed my tongue to leave a pleasant lingering throughout my mouth. How was I able to notice this in the midst of my angst?
I’ve enjoyed a cup of coffee before in this way, but usually undistracted, my undivided attention arrested by the detection of every bold, earthy, spicy, herbal and acidic note. This is when I am purposefully in tune with all the flavors that resonate through my mouth, and I’m happy, completely satisfied with a humble cup of coffee. I’m further delighted with the simplicity of the moment.
Right now, I am preoccupied by a series of disappointments, wholly unconcerned with any such uncomplicated delight. I’m looking at the big picture and I’m frustrated that I don’t have the sizably significant stuff of life (career, community, relationships, etc.) figured out. Yet the simple everyday pleasure of a coffee gives life a rhythm and consistency that this bigger stuff can’t always. And yet, we’re all quick to peer past these simple treasures.
As I enjoy this sip, in an unexpected moment when I am otherwise atrophied by dismay, some part of my being brings me back to the realization that it isn’t all peachy, but in these sour moments we still have coffee, we still have other things to take pleasure in. I am reminded that amidst despair there’s something favorable to be seen, experienced, or construed, and reality is never entirely awful.
This plain, non-complex, and easy to remember moment will be recollected along with another sip of coffee down the road. Hopefully then I’ll be in a place of poise and peace, and I’ll look back in a head shake thinking, “How could I have been so ardently against hope, and so sure of defeat?” Then I’ll again be amazed that something had triggered a pause in that manic moment to enjoy life.
My subconscious mind reacted to my out-of-control emotions, and I was able to quiet myself, albeit only for an instant, to be happy. The question is now: how much coffee will I need to drink to see the sun above the clouds before they pass?
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