A refreshing rain began falling yesterday morning just as I was leaving a local coffee shop. When I pulled up in my condo it was pouring, so I sat in my car to wait out the rain. I found it peaceful for the next 10 minutes. As I sat there my mind wandered back to the coffee shop I had just left and to one of the regular customers there.
He sits at the same table almost 6 days a week from 7:00-10:00 am, reading one of the larger national newspapers, from front to back, and sipping on a large iced tea. Of course he is known by both the baristas and the customers. The other regulars will keep the table reserved for him in case he’s late and he has conversations with other customers on a regular basis. My wandering mind was thinking about how differently we spend our time in the coffee shop, and I imagine that’s true outside the coffee shop. I prefer spending my coffee shop time visiting with a friend, reading an uplifting book, writing in my journal, and fighting the battle to spend as little time on the internet as possible but I almost never read the newspaper. I would rather fill my mind with positive images and thoughts, which is an unreachable ideal. A smile came across my face and I laughed at myself because my idea of coffee shop time would bore him, and probably many others, into a glazed-over-stupor. As I thought about it more, he’d also be bored sitting in my car listening and watching the rain. Sheesh, can my mind wander and not just when it’s raining! 🙂
2 Comments
Tom Dills
The folks that run a B&B we often visit will come into the living room after breakfast and ask us what we have planned for the day. Often Kathy & I are just sitting and enjoying the quiet and the view and tell them “we’re doing it!” We love spending our mornings at home sitting on our screened porch, drinking our coffee and reading the news (online!). When we cruise we love sea days, a lot of people can’t stand sea days. Many people don’t understand the concept of sitting and enjoying the quiet, observing the world. They need to be “doing” something. That’s OK too, but it doesn’t have to be all the time or for everyone.
Monte Stevens
Never heard of sea days but sounds like I’ve had a few of them. We all have our ways, traditions, rituals, systems or whatever we need to call them. Have a super Awesome day!