Lessons from a cafetière!
Posted on 27th July 2023 at 15:45
This year for my birthday, my brother brought me a cafetière. Over the years I have become fond of coffee. As he, a coffee connoisseur himself couldn’t believe I did not have one, I unwrapped his gift and stood the cafetière next to the kettle ready for the next morning.
Originally coffee was just my wake up, the boost I needed in the morning; a heaped spoon in my cup, quick stir and mindlessly I drank it on the go. Or at times, a pod in the coffee machine, press the button as I get my belongings together whilst the machine did its thing. If I didn’t have time for this, a quick stop at Costa; Starbucks; head down in my phone whilst I wait in the queue.
I always enjoyed the coffee, but like anything, it become routine - part of the morning rush. I never really tasted it, appreciated it.
It hadn’t been until more recent years that I began to truly savour my coffee. Not only the flavour, the smell, but the entire process from the coffee plant to the cup. I didn’t even think too much about the origins of coffee itself. I read that coffee beans were discovered in Ethiopia, where they are still grown today. They were found in a region called Kaffa, which is the origin from where coffee gets its name.
I have started really taking a moment when making my morning coffee now, using the cafetière I slow down, I notice. I wait, bringing patience to the process. Taking time to stop. I enjoy the smell, appreciate the journey this ground coffee has been on as it infuses with the boiling water, I stop and let my thoughts infuse for a while, catch my breath.
Learning from the cafetière each day, it holds space for the coffee to be present, for it to infuse, to settle. By doing so its flavour enhanced, the aromas flourish in the space available, able to be appreciated. By taking a slow plunge, not rushing, the outcome brings intense flavour, smooth coffee. I now welcome this reminder; my time to pause. My slower start to the day, awareness in my movement, this giving me space to pause with my experience, each time I reflect on my own journey; my thoughts have time to infuse, they too have space and the result - a smoother walk out of the door.
We so often want it now, task complete, never mind the enjoyment. We think we do but as we arrive, we are already wrapped up in the next thing and as we get there our minds race ahead again reaching for what’s to come.
Stopping to drink the coffee so to speak, gives you a moment to notice, to feel, in turn heal and bring things to the surface each day. The more time we give ourselves, the more time we get back.
This cafetière not only gives me a smooth cup of coffee that I now savour and really taste; it also teaches me each morning the importance of time and space for ourselves. It reminds me to slow down, to give my thoughts a little time to play, to be present, notice where I’m at and out of this the result’s a smoother, more enjoyable day. Just like the coffee.
Wherever you are drinking your next coffee, pause for a moment. Give your mind the freedom to wander a little.
It’s important to create the space, make the time, and allow your thoughts and dreams the scope to infuse - to grow. To flourish.
Tagged as: mindfulness, Mindfulness Retreats Buckinghamshire
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