Morning Coffee

Reaching for the buzzer for the second…. must be third time, I am suddenly aware of the enveloping contentment brought on by velvety warm, yesterday clean, crisp white sheets. 

 I am comfortable, like really, really, comfortable.

Thinking of myself as an evolved person at this time of day is a challenge, in reality I am like a child who needs to be bribed to eat their daily greens.  The thought of my morning coffee always ends the mental bargaining for ‘just 5 more minutes’.

Monumental effort is required to reef back the covers, grab my (also seriously soft) wrap and pad quietly into the dark kitchen.

A backdrop of inky blue sky confirms most of the world must still be slumbering. My reliable accomplice the coffee machine, however stands alert humming quietly awaiting our morning ritual.

Unsealing a bag of beans releases the blissful chocolaty-nutty aroma. As the grinder kicks into action a fine dust descends into the waiting basket below. 

Making the perfect cup is an exercise of precision.  The beans must be super fresh, perfectly ground then carefully tamped with a measured flick of the wrist.  Locking the basket into the machine seals the ritual with a satisfying click.

As the honey gold freshly brewed coffee tumbles into the cup below, I become focused on the gratifying mix of ‘small things’pleasures and the uncomplicatedness of a simple job done well. 

I am rewarded for my early rising with glimpses of the fledgling dawn – sometimes pinky orange hues or on rare occasions there are violent deep reds and brilliant pinks splashed across the sky.

Sneaking back to bed, I savour that first uninterrupted (when does that ever happen during the day!) sip.  Pleasure centres awake, drowsiness dissipates and most wonderfully the mental list-checking holts as stillness grabs hold.

I have been dragged kicking and screaming to the wisdom that solid ‘me-time’ adds reams to a satisfied and duly examined life. My morning coffee ritual prepares me for my favourite part of the day - morning reflection.  

A gratitude journal is completed to remind me of the ever-present but often not noticed abundance in my life.  Time exploring words of wisdom that, for that moment at least, slay the doubts that power the continual thirst for activity and achievement. Finally absorbing a chapter of a new book that lights inspiration and joy for the day ahead.

The sick and out of control feeling of mindless days merging into weeks dissolves – time is marked and space is created to question my internal GPS.  

I notice that I am able to practice acceptance and cut myself a break on the big things in life that are off-balance.  

My morning coffee ritual has seen me become a convert to the musings of Jon Kabat-Zinn when he said: “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.”

So right! Small things done well lead to a big life, well at least one with more mindful moments of pleasure anyway.