Coffee?

How else can you wake up?

Turns out, there’s more than a few ways!

Now, I’m not a paid endorser. But you’ll likely admit soon it’s a pretty cool product placement nonetheless.

My wife Kristin tells me she likes having me around. This is usually after she gets her twice daily homemade Americanos (which on Sundays turn into decadent homemade lattes!), served to her at her desk (or on Sundays, on our blue couch while reading her Yahoo news feed, playing Candy Crush, and doing her Wordle for the day). “These are better than Starbucks!”

(Put THAT in your venti travel mug, Howard Schultz, and slurp it!).

The other day I noticed something that had been staring at me, right in my face, for virtually every morning since we bought our Breville espresso machine maybe over 10 years ago now. You know, if you’ve read these posts, of my affinity for metaphor. You’d then know I think virtually anything can become a metaphor—with the right imagination.

So a metaphor had been “right there,” every morning, on the face of my Breville latte machine.

I know you might have to zoom in on the image, but do you see it? Can you spot my metaphor?

Power, grind amount, filter (single or double?), pressure, program, hot water/steam, clean me, mug(s)

I saw them anew, and for the first time, this past Sunday morning. Now, every morning hence, or whenever the medium roasted beans are calling, I’ll see, metaphorically, some surprisingly important questions through these new lenses:

“Yo Kert…”

Power: “Are you powered up and tuned in? Power is only meaningful if it gets used. Is everything you do today, or about to do, empowered with the core values and principles you have said are important to you, and needed in the world? How will life use you today? How will you use life? What are you going to get done in service to something bigger or deeper or greater than you? And btw, remember your Super Power? The world still needs your unique Super Power too. What is it that you, and only you, can bring to this world? And how are you going to bring it today?”

There is something hidden behind the machine though, that makes the power button superfluous if at first it isn’t properly placed—the power cord. That, in and of itself is a profound metaphor. Being human, we forget at times that we each have a power cord that needs to be/stay connected to our Ultimate Source of energy no matter what you might call it: Spirit, Soul, Consciousness, Boundless Silence, Love, Tao, Energy, Vibration, Intention, Buddha, Krishna, Jehovah, Muhammed, God…etc.

So the cord asks: “Are you plugged in? To the right source? How do you know? Have you looked lately? Only then does turning on your power make any sense. Otherwise, you’re just standing there, with morning sleep in your eyes, and with unground whole beans, cold water, and empty cups; or worse, especially if you have a bad connection, you just may cause hurt today, or be indifferent to it all. This world has too much hurt in it already; and in THAT world, indifference is a sin.”

Grind Amount: “Are you stressing or trying or pressing too hard lately? Are you making your life, or anything in it, “a grind?” (And yes, that would be a choice) Can your grind amount, today, be zero? Can you simply let life be exactly as it will be without grinding against it? Life is amazingly sweet and aromatic just as it is; no grinding necessary (SFV oatmilk lattes excluded, of course). Just relax, let go, and let it be. You just may be surprised at the richness of the experience without adding your grinding interference.”

Filter: “What lenses through which are you seeing life today? Are you filtering anything out of “real life” for the false sense of feeling more safe and secure? Don’t filters keep you from fully experiencing…anything?” (Ans: Yes, yes they do.) “And why the heck do you need a double filter? Silly Kert, such folly. Filters restrict and permit, allowing only certain things to pass, or keep from passing, through. Why do you believe you know enough about the full catastrophe of life to arrogantly lay on filters, beliefs, dogmas, ideologies, political partisanships? Think of all the life and living you may be leaving out by the sad filters of your self-imposed and limiting perspectives. Oh, and by the way, what filters are you keeping on yourself that robs others of experiencing the full you?”

Maybe that’s where the single/double filter comes in—one filter we put up in front of us to let only certain things IN to our lives; the other we put up to allow only certain things OUT into the world. Hmm…. Yes, that’s it.

But both sad.

Pressure: “What self-imposed pressure are you adding on to your life right now? Is there any other kind of pressure other than that of the ‘self-imposed’ variety? Really? Why not laugh at yourself more? Heck, why not just laugh? And dance? And love more? See what THAT does to this pressure gauge. When was the last time you had a great belly laugh? (Hint, it was way too long ago!)”

Program: “Are you on auto-pilot right now; following some habitual program or belief system that causes you to miss out on a lot of life that happens spontaneously, or from other perspectives? What risk is there in a life that follows NO program? Is THAT a program in and of itself? Why not live life today untethered by any imposed mandate of ‘you need to do it like this’ false programming?”

Hot Water/Steam: “Heat and pressure produces hot water and steam. But also high blood pressure, hypertension, and insomnia if you don’t monitor it closely and regulate it. Life is too short; remember even heat and pressure are self-imposed, right? Did you forget that? You forget that at your own peril. Bleed the pressure periodically and always seek your ‘just right’ water temp. In cooking up the Alchemy of your life, use only the right amount of heat. Don’t burn yourself, don’t burnout.”

Clean Me: “You need constant cleansing—of whatever gunk that arises. Cuz life will surface gunk—regardless or maybe because of your useless filters (see above!). Of what do you need to be cleansed right now? What can you let go of and allow to simply wash down the drain? In other words and most importantly:

“What’s the state or cleanliness of your Soul? Have you even checked lately?”

And about those mug icons: “When given the option, always go for the double shot, or second cup. Life is too short and coffee is too rich and good to not experience it to the full—yes, there will be some bitterness as well, but that is the only way to have the full-bodied experience of a full life; or a great cuppa coffee. It makes YOU more rich. Besides, you can always add sweeteners, pumpkin spice, and sprinkles—extra foam optional. Remember to compost the grounds too.”

Just as with all other moments of awakening that occur from being fully present in the presence of some “thing,” one can never, and should never, view that thing in the same way as before your awakening to its fuller meaning. Otherwise, you miss the sacredness of the thing; of the moment; of the impact of intimate relationship. And that is always unfortunate.

Everything can be seen as sacred. Some say THAT is actually a great purpose to have in life—to live a life of reverence in which everything you approach is seen as sacred.

Imagine that.

“What you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach… When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us.”

~ John O’Donohue

Remember, choose…just this. I bet that’d change the world, with a hot cuppa coffee. At least it’s changing me.

So I’m trying that on for size right now—or rather, brewing that in my mug with steamed oatmilk and a splash of dairy-free vanilla creamer. Venti please. It’s a part of my Alchemy. In different forms and ways, I ask these questions of myself often. My espresso machine brought them to me in an unexpected way Sunday morning—but a key point is that I was ready and able to see them…anew.

I’ll never look at my Breville espresso machine in the same way again. I can’t; I can’t unsee that which gives me a glimpse into a higher and deeper way of Being.

And that’s a GREAT thing! With or without an Americano.

Or two.

Yeah, I’ll say it myself: “Better than Starbucks!”

Always and Ubuntu,

~ kert

PS: btw and for the record, Kristin tells me she likes having me around not just because of the homemade coffees. She’s not THAT shallow (oops, she’s not shallow at all! Geesh, I should stop talking right now).

But the coffee IS pretty damn good!