Coffee and Chaos

I was sitting this morning having a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop. I enjoy a great cup of coffee in the morning. I don't need the caffeine but I love the smell, the taste and what a coffee shop brings to life. You see the different types of people. Those that come in and need that caffeine. Those that are in a rush because they are running behind. Those that are relaxed and enjoying life. And those like me who want to enjoy a great coffee a good book and some conversation with others. It is amazing that coffee like so many other things in life brings people together. 

As I sat there this morning reading and having friendly conversations with those around me and those running in and out I realized one common thread in all of us...chaos. It did not matter which person you looked at, from the people working there to the retired fella sitting outside by himself pondering life. As I sat there embracing my warm cup in my hands I thought to myself why are our lives so chaotic. We all had jobs, relationships, clothes, homes and enough money to buy a cup of coffee that morning. But the common thread between all of us this morning was not coffee it was chaos. 

Chaos of our mind, heart, and mind created by the very things that we should be thankful for. As I sat and  processed this in my life I realized that our lives are chaotic because our outside circumstances are running our life. Now I realize that to some extent this is necessary because of jobs, family, meetings, money etc. But we have lost peace and rest in our life. We move from one thing to the next. We rarely take time to stop and ponder the discussion we just had with a friend or a stranger. And so our relationships become superficial and selfish rather than deep and long lasting. We become so connected with everyone that we are really not connecting with anyone. 

Our eyes have become closed to the brightness of the sun except when it hurts our eyes. And so beauty has become bothersome. We can't see the hurt or pain in someone's eyes and heart because our lives are lived in a rush. Love has become inconvenient and selfish rather than intimate and giving. We have no time to stop and breathe. To smell the coffee we are drinking. To feel the warmth of the mug. To taste the flavors that are consumed in that drink. To open our eyes and see others around us and give them a smile. To listen to someone who is living in a chaotic world and for a moment give them peace and rest all because you were able to stop and have a cup of coffee. 

We always talk about escaping this world to find peace. To escape our job, relationships, technology, and family. We go on vacation to escape the chaos. But we often returned more tired then when we left. What if finding peace and rest is not about escape but about embrace? Maybe the problem is not escape of these situations but to embrace them all as life giving. But in order to do that I believe we may have to stop and have a cup of coffee. To smell the beauty around us. To hold the hurt and pain of another. To hear the joy in others lives. To see where we can become a gentle breeze in someone life and they can feel our sensitivity to them in that moment.  What would life be like if we actually tasted what it was meant to taste like. Feel what it was meant to feel like. Hear what it was meant to sound like. To view it as it was meant to be seen. To smell the aroma of life. 

I believe we need to turn our chaos into a good cup of coffee. When I slow down and enjoy the life that is held in that cup of coffee my senses are slowly opened to the life around me. A life of people that need to be embraced out of the chaos. People that need to stop for a moment and talk, feel, see, hear and share. People that need others to sit so they can sit. Listen so they can talk. Embrace so they can cry. So maybe today when you are having that cup of coffee embrace the world around you and bring peace into it rather than more chaos. Don't escape chaos around you, embrace it so that others might be able to sit for a moment and enjoy a cup of coffee with you.