Because Life Should Be Sipped, Not Gulped

Sound familiar? It's on the Melita coffee filter box in my kitchen cupboard. Leave it to the coffee industry to come up with a profound slogan.

I love, love, LOVE coffee. Good coffee, that is. I'll choose a cup of good African coffee over chocolate or cheesecake any day of the week, rain or shine, summer or winter. It's comfort and energy rolled into one glorious dark cup. Ethiopian coffee has the typical African earthiness, with some incredible floral tones to it. I sip it because it's hot, but also in order to taste everything it has to offer. Mmmmmmmmmmm.........

Okay, I'm back - had to pour myself a cup of coffee.

I live a long way from my family and some of my dearest friends. The time I get to spend with them is limited, and never seems to be enough. Before I visit, I find myself making grand plans in my head of everyone I'll see, the catching up that will hurriedly take place, the meaningful conversations, the ingenius schedule I'll devise to do it - all in a few hours time. I stress out, STRESS OUT, over the task ahead. And I find when I arrive, I lack the energy to walk out my grand plan, and situations beyond my control force me to go with the flow.

Then, I am able to be in the moment. I can then enjoy the time with my Mom, my family, my friends. I can listen, observe, and tuck away in my heart memories that I can savor over and over again.

Alright, this is not to say that people are like coffee - good to the last drop, the best part of waking up, pure mountain-grown. Ick. I'm just thankful for a little morning reminder that the best parts of my life are the moments in which I'm engaged with the present, the person in front of me, the birdsong in my ear, the scent of wet earth after a hard rain. All that from the back of a filter box.