COLD COFFEE
It’s time to pay my bills. I often bring a cup of coffee to the desk with me as I arrange my receipts, account due notices and check book. Most often I finish the bookkeeping, but not the coffee.
The coffee grows cold as my attention (and nerves) are swayed by the accounting matters. So, though the idea was a good one, I miss the moment and am caught up with the stress and demands of life's realities. Coffee is not all that’s missed because of ‘reality’.
Kids grow up quickly. First steps. First tumbles. “Dadda!”,“Momma!”. T-ball and soccer matches. Squeaking voices and budding beauties. Graduation and…..gone. Just gone. Cold coffee while we watched TV, worked extra hours, talked on the phone, drove to and fro, bought houses, argued, fought, divorced, remarried, sought personal significance, and paid the bills.
Youth and health flee like steam curling off the cup. We spend it on late nights, early mornings, hectic weekends, long work hours and entertainment. It gathers around our wastes, on our thighs and backsides. We ache, walk less, groan more often, avoid sweating, take the elevator and hire someone else for the hard jobs. Pills, clothing, supplements, memberships and New Year’s resolutions only mask the real problem – gain without pain. Bills and thrills have received our attention, rather than investment in the things which could have brought us deep gratification--but can no longer. Cold coffee. No steam. Missed opportunity.
Life ends one day. In an instant or from a lonely room we recount the days, assess our selves, wish for just one more sip of steaming hot coffee.
Bills must be paid. We can’t spend every hour at the gym or track. However, we don’t have to miss out on that hot cup of vacation sitting on our desk. Sip while you work. Sip while you play. Pay attention to the weightier matters. How can you know which ones are weightier? They’re the ones you’ll want to have a chance at once you cannot again. Reality, in truth, is not in the present; it is in the cup.
All material copyrighted by Stephen Meeks
--Gourmet Thoughts for A Gourmet Day ** Fresh Brewed Here Every Monday-- Millions of us begin our day with coffee. For some its a necessity; for others a simple luxury. Which ever your case, I want to share it with you occasionally--not to intrude, but, hopefully to enhance by offering a thought, an idea, an insight, or a story. After all, what better way to begin a gourmet day than with a gourmet thought and hot coffee?
