Thursday, July 8, 2010

Easy as Coffee ...



Originally uploaded by α7lα dσичαツ

A revelation of sorts occurred in a conversation yesterday with a woman I love dearly :

In its simplest terms, life can be as easy as coffee.

We both enjoy this simple pleasure. In particular, she loves Dunkin Donuts coffee. A dark skim coffee with half a Splenda to be exact. To watch her get one, hold it and savor it is like watching someone at a 5 star restaurant getting the best meal on the menu. I, on the other hand, love grinding my own beans, making it in a French Press. Sheer heaven-in-a-cup in the morning. And, now that Dunkin Donuts has a dark roast iced coffee, I am a converted fan of this chain that is growing leaps and bounds over Starbucks (and markedly cheaper too !)

Our conversation revealed that we can be incredibly complicated creatures left up to our own devices. We make buffets from crumbs. We analyze our analyses. We tell ourselves certain stories repeatedly and hold them to be truth. We make assumptions. We project. We defend. We act out of fear lots of the time. Being engaged in any number of these mazes of craziness finds us missing the beauty of things, the simplicity and pleasure of them, of each other, of ourselves.

And here's the "sweetener"  from that conversation:  when you name just "what is",  fearlessly drop the old story lines,  be honest and direct with kindness and without qualifiers,  own your part outright --  an incredible thing happens ...  you're free.  And nothing bad happens afterwards.  In fact,  there's a whole lotta room and a whole lotta intimacy.    It's that easy.

Like enjoying your coffee.

Or as the man who spoke at my home group shared last evening about re-visiting the concept of time in his newfound sobriety at a rehab in India where you sat each day for an hour or so with the other patients and did absolutely nothing. No talking. No gestures. Just quiet. He told us that he never thought he could deeply appreciate something as simple as "15 minutes" , until he learned and understood that it was an actual "thing with a feel and quality" to be savored versus something missed, tossed away or lost - like in a blackout . Every second, every minute is precious.

My life can truly be simplified by remembering to do a few things each day:  when I wake up and before I go to sleep,  get on my knees and thank God for this day and for being alive and sober and ask that my will be aligned with God's plan for me. And don't pick up a drink under any circumstances. Meet each moment as it arrives and speak and live my truth.   Appreciate and be grateful and love whenever possible.

Easy as coffee ...

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