• coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Presence is wisdom!

    November 8, 2024
    Journaling with a chai latte, while watching it snow outside

    Wisdom is precisely a different way of seeing and knowing the ten thousand things in a new way. I suggest that wisdom is precisely the freedom to be truly present to what is right in front of you. Presence is wisdom! Those who can be present will know what they need to know, and in a wisdom way.

    Richard Rohr

    It began snowing in earnest about 9:30 am, offering us big, beautiful moisture filled snowflakes. I met Jeff earlier for tea and conversation, then stopped by the Arboretum Coffee shop to journal for a while. The small chai latte was a perfect pairing with my journaling. This coffee shop is a nonprofit that is striving to “create a community where refugees and immigrants can rebuild their lives with dignity, gain essential skills, and form meaningful connections.” I come here because I want to support that ideal. So far my interaction with all these baristas has not given me a feeling of working with a criminal, the drug cartel or that I’m  in any danger. The only problem I’ve had is our language differences but that is improving! What’s cool about that is we don’t throw up our hands but keep at it until I get skim milk rather than whole. I’m finding my name is strange to them and love how they sometimes say it. If I remain open and willing to encounter wisdom, then these baristas have much to teach me, to enhance my life, and a chance to be present to each other. Seems there is more danger around the white privileged who think they think they know. I much prefer Rohr’s notion that wisdom is precisely a different way of seeing and knowing the ten thousand things in a new way. I want to be a seeker of wisdom.

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  • coffee life,  fountain pens,  journal

    Curiosity

    October 21, 2024
    A chai latte, blank pages and fountain pen full of ink

    The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

    Albert Einstein

    I like the Arboretum coffee shop because it is quiet. Its ambiance seems to be more directed towards students who study and reminds me of the Lory Student Center on campus. They do play music, but it’s very low in volume and easy listening music. It is also an enjoyable two mile bicycle ride for me along Spring Creek Trail. Even though I am not a college student, I still consider myself to be a student of life. Hopefully, I will always have curiosity, inviting me to keep asking the questions.

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  • fountain pens,  journal

    Favorite cannot be singular

    October 15, 2024

    Someone asked me today what my two favorite fountain pens were. After several years of using fountain pens I am still unable to answer this question. The best answer is that favorite cannot be singular or limited to two. I will share with you some of the pens I enjoy writing with and my experiences with fountain pens .

    The three pens I’m carrying today

    I began using Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens. They are reasonably priced and have a good selection of colors and nib sizes to select from. Then for many years, I journaled with Pelikan M200 and M205 series pens. Not sure how I discovered these but I found they are a perfect size for my hands. I have 8 of them. However, the past two years I’ve been using 14 carat gold nibbed pens made by Pilot. I would not recommend any of these as first pens for beginners because of their cost. The pens I primarily use now, and ones I consider favorites, are a brown marbled Pelikan M200, a blue marbled Pelikan M205, three Pilot Custom Heritage 92, two Pilot Custom 74 and two of Pilot Custom 823. Again, these pens are rather expensive, especially for beginners. It’s also important to find a nib size and style that works for you. There are several nib sizes and styles, calligraphy for instance, depending on the manufacturer. So, the fountain pen’s style, its shape, nib, and ink filling systems are all about personal taste. The world of fountain pens is a world of its own, it’s a science and can (has) easily become an obsession. If you’re a photographer you’ll relate. We also need to make sure we have the right type of paper for fountain pens because fountain pen ink flows through capillary action. And the multitude of ink colors is just mind boggling. Enough from me. May you have a wonderful day!

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal

    This morning…

    October 10, 2024

    tired after a night of wrestling for sleep
    I settled into silence, prayer, and meditation

    ignoring the cold, I mounted my red steed for
    an invigorating bicycle ride to the arboretum

    then placed a latte made with love by Allie
    on a tabernacle at an east facing window

    with beams of sunlight enkindling blank pages
    I sought words hidden within a favorite fountain pen

    mws
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  • coffee life,  fountain pens,  journal

    Words for this Blog

    August 28, 2024

    I find this coffee life I live to be an interesting way of observing people. Arriving just as they open is usually the quiet time, it’s easier to journal or read before the busyness that moves in an hour later and people watching increases. The din rises with conversations and laughter. I watch friends meet and exchange hugs. I watch as people stand in front of the brewed coffees and have to make that early morning decision of dark or light roast coffee. I hear the blender crunch away as someone’s smoothie is being made. The bicycle rack begins to fill up. I jot down notes of what I see in my journal, knowing they may be words for this blog.

    In the morning I will have a broken tooth surgically removed. I will probably be in some pain so don’t expect me respond to comments or read your blog until Saturday. Prayers and vibes to the universe are welcomed!

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  • fountain pens,  journal,  musings

    To Be Fully Alive

    August 4, 2024
    Pilot Custom 74

    Someone shared a quote with me by Mother Teresa that says “to be holy is to be fully alive.” Seems as I’m aging I am becoming more alive, maybe even fully alive! But, being holy is another story. Anyway, my experiences in becoming fully alive has required me to rely on courage. I remember a time when I prayed for courage, believing it was something I didn’t have, not realizing it’s already a part of who I am. And, I believe a part of who we all are. I’ve learned that looking at my failures as lessons rather than condemning myself has required courage. Asking for help requires courage. It takes courage just to believe that I can grow in my creativity, in my spiritual life, to face the reality of life and, yes, to be fully alive.

    Read this morning that the Alexander Mountain FIre is at 9,680 acres and now at 32% containment. Smoke is still bad so air quality is very poor. We are hoping to have rain showers and cooler temperatures for the next 7 days. Should help with containing the fires. Happy Sunday

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