Coffee — Confusing Times in The Morning
If you’re doing work or getting ready to start your day, sipping the morning coffee, a sense of doom is approaching. You feel an awkward sensation and confusion about what is about to happen. Your mind now focuses on each rumble in your stomach and the warning sirens from your rectum.
You need to continue sipping your coffee because the brain convinces you that the next few moments will feel much better if you do so.
You monitor your body differently depending on how you take your first sip of coffee.
It’s About the Consistency
If you add sweeteners, a lot of cream, and maybe some artificial flavoring, the next moments could be terrifying. The walk you were on or your typed email is cut short by the balve button. A 30–45 second clock now determines the rest of your day. Getting up from the chair to the bathroom could be nerve-wracking. Sweat will pour from your forehead if the toilet is occupied in public. But if your home, the volume of your action has no ceiling, you grimace at the sight, sound, and smell of your wrongdoings. Mission complete. Now, you set aside another 10–15 minutes to clean yourself up, which feels like an eternity.
Pushing That Rock
Sipping on a hot black coffee with zero additives will remind you quickly how you need to donate some junk to have a clearer mind. When you’re a veteran, taking that cup along with you for this drop-off session is the perk of the job, and of course, you’ll refill shortly after. This event doesn’t surprise you; instead, you know your choice and intentionally want to feel this way and reap the benefits. Some form of entertainment will get you through this time in your day and allow the body to relax.
A Time to Unwind
Are reading magazines even a thing anymore? Depending on how you grew up, there is always some good literature on a shelf or the floor to get you through this time. Most of the time, it will be a ‘People magazine or ‘Sports Illustrated.’ The fragrance samples on page 16 will most likely have been used already but you get a slight whiff to counteract the smell of construction being done.
Where Did the Time Go?
Now the entertainment portion has been replaced by the phone. TikTok or Instagram has left people with circulation problems in their legs because of the extra time allotted to fall down the social media rabbit hole. While endlessly scrolling through social media, your vile begins to boil, a portion of your body seems to be catching the cold wind, and it feels like you have a sticker on your skin. Still setting aside the 15–20 minute clean-up time, the phone is placed to the side. The Instagram reel or TikTok video plays repeatedly while getting a low-angle shot of you.
What would be done if the phone wasn’t taken with you for this activity? There are no magazines or books around either. Stare into an abyss? Plan the day in your head?
We’re in a place now where every activity without the cushion of technology feels like an ayahuasca trip. Letting the mind wander off may be beneficial, who knows.
