Coffee Shop Joys

Yesterday, I resolved to do something nice for somebody, so I bought them a little present (scented soap in the shape of a rose, a little box of chocolates, two girly pens and vanilla orchid spa lotion mini kit, to be exact).  Today, I thought I should do something nice for me too, so I stopped at my favorite little coffee shop for lunch on a beautiful autumn day in my home town.

I love this little place because it is privately owned and not a big chain coffee shop. I savored the moments as I wrote in my eco-friendly mauve journal, drinking my bourbon pecan coffee, sitting under a large black and white photograph of Audrey Hepburn, and listened to Adele on the radio, I felt supremely and delightfully spoiled.

It is amazing how taking a few moments out of a busy day to enjoy something beautiful can make the whole world seem better and life seem more steady.  That I believe, is the real appeal of the coffee shop phenomenon. Of course, they are also a reactionary symptom of our post-modern, over-worked and under-meditated society. Putting that aside, though, there is something compelling about the  notion of taking a few moments and just sit somewhere where the music is not blasting too loudly and people are speaking more quietly (because they are sitting more close to strangers in a small space).  Maybe that is the real reason why we pay for the extra dollars and cents for our soy-milk lattes.

Sure, I could have fixed myself a cup of coffee at home. I make a lovely brew of coffee and I have Lactaid to go with it. I can listen to Adele at home, and I frequently do. There is even a lovely view from my kitchen window out into the peach and apple trees and herb garden outside. But if I had walked home and attempted to relax in my kitchen as I brewed myself a cup of coffee, I know what would have happened. I would have noticed a dirty dish in the sink and washed it, or gone upstairs to do my laundry or tidy my room, then I would have gotten distracted by something online, and forgoten about the coffee. After I had tidied up and attempted to sit down again, I would have thought to myself, "There is still time to work out and shower before my Shakespeare pupils arrive!" and set off into belly-dancing heaven. But belly-dancing heaven is a very different heaven from the coffee shop heaven I experienced around lunchtime.  I would not have taken the time to enjoy my lunch because I would not have been setting the time aside to go and do just that. I am so glad that I went. Even though I was tempted several times to text my boyfriend, to share my pleasures with him, I am very glad I did not bring my phone or netbook with me. The best way to savor a coffee shop experience is without any other distractions. Because even though I was not sitting in silence, my soul sipped something that tasted almost like silence and quenched a little of its thirst for it.  It is those delicious, fleeting moments of mundane yet unearthly pleasure that drive my imagination and nurture my soul. It is that which reminds me of all the things that I have to be grateful for; like my ability to see the cold beauty of an October morning, or smell coffee, or taste some soothing, hot bisque, or hear music.

Today I am more disposed to thank God for the gift that is my life than I would have been had I not stopped walking, gone into the shop and sat down to think.  So thank you, God, for life. And everyone else, go sit down for a few minutes, or a half an hour, and pour yourself some good coffee.