MISSING YOU

I’ve been busy lately; I mean the kind of crazy busy that disrupts what little routine I have in my life. These demands on my time have also put me in an odd position, where I’m not able to get coffee. Twice, I made it at home so I could have some. The rest of the time, I've just bolted for the office after not-enough-sleep the night before.

It occurred to me today that I’m thinking Starbucks hasn’t felt my absence. They are there, grinding beans and making high maintenance drinks for high maintenance people, and they haven’t missed me for a moment. The fact they haven’t poured me a grande drip no-room hasn’t phased them. But I’ve missed it.

And in missing it, I’ve thought also about my own personal journey. I’ve not spent a lot of focused time thinking about my spiritual journey. I’ve not been able to think or focus or wonder about the deeper things in life. And I’ve missed that too.

There are people running around who have never had a cup of coffee. They’ve never put it beneath their nose early on a cold morning and inhaled its nutty scent, or quaffed it like a root beer. But they are OK, they’ll survive without this pleasure. Their life is hardly empty for want of the brown brew.

There are also people running around completely dead to the fact that they have a spiritual nature. That their spirituality is a part of them as much as their physical body, emotions and reason are with them, and just like all those other areas, it takes a little discipline to understand and maintain their spiritual side. Unlike the non-coffee drinkers, these folks are not in fact wounded by this lack of awareness. Their lives are distinctly sub-optimal thanks to a lack of spiritual awareness.

But I’m not unaware, I’m just so swamped that I’m not practicing the disciplines as I should. What happens? Well, for one thing, I’m a bit disconnected for the world as I know it, the rich reality that exists when I’m in close connection with my spirituality. But also, this disconnection makes my spiritual muscle atrophy. I stop the practice of discernment I become less discerning. I stop the practice of prayer and I become less peaceful. So, I want to right my ship, steer a better course, and get back to my limited routine.

And of course, in order to do that, I need to have my morning coffee.