Question: What About the Joys of Morning Coffee?

Answer: Obviously!

Over on FB, I posited a question - what do you want me to write 250 words about? Whoa boy, but did people have some great suggestions. Many of them wanted me to write about ice cream for some reason. I think the heat is getting to us. I’ll get to ice cream, I promise.

But for today, let’s consider the simple cup of coffee. Ready? Let’s go.

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A few weeks ago, our dishwasher washed its last dish, and in the time waiting for a new one, we defaulted back to our old kitchen life, washing them by hand.

Believe it or not, this is something I’ve written a lot about, mainly because one of my favorite writers has written a lot about it. The great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, “To my mind, the idea that doing dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you aren't doing them. We do the dishes not only in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing them, and to be truly in touch with life.”

What he’s really saying here is, slow down. Also, it’s ok to slow down. Also, most of our life is unremarkable, is washing dishes - so learn to be cool with washing the dishes or a big portion of your life is going to be nothing but drudgery.

So I like it. It’s time consuming, true. But I like how the water feels on my hands. I like how it provides me with clear progress on a cut and dry job. I like my kitchen and so do the ladies, so often doing the dishes offers me the opportunity to be in the same room as them.

It’ll be fine and faster when the dishwasher arrives, but I’ll loose something in the trade off as well.

Same for that morning coffee.

If you do it right, coffee forces you to slow down. Even for five minutes. Even for the time it takes it to cool down enough to sip. The day is beginning. Chaos awaits, as it does every day. But for a couple moments - sitting across from my daughter or maybe on the front stoop with my wife - that steaming cup ‘o joe gives me a chance to center.

And see, what I’m saying here is that it’s not dishes or coffee. It can be vacuuming or tea. Coffee - despite the fact that I love it - isn’t the point.

The point is to slow down. Deliberately put on the brakes. Just for a minute. Trust me on this one. Do that today. Dust something. Take out the trash. Toss in a load of laundry. But be aware of it, do it slowly. Be grateful that you even have a dishwasher or a dryer or something that collects dust.

That’s what coffee is.

Try it. Report back. How did it make you feel?