[ A short excerpt from the current book I'm working on titled: ENJOY YOUR COFFEE ]
*Coming Soon*
Last week I sat down in a local coffee shop and pulled out my laptop ready to tackle several assignments, whose deadlines had been fast approaching. I ordered my usual. Dark roast, black, no cream, no sugar and decided to turn it into a small brunch by pairing it with a delicious tuna salad sandwich. Excited to get down to work, I grabbed my phone and set my pomodoro timer, hit start and began typing away. Shortly after I started my tasks, a pleasant lady pulled up a chair at the table beside me, pulled out her phone and began scrolling away on some app that was obviously keeping her entertained, I could tell by the faint chuckles every so often. About five minutes after the lady took a seat, another middle-aged woman entered the café with such a level of excitement, that she caused everyone including myself to stop what they were doing and watch the two ladies tightly embrace each other, rocking side to side and belting out how much they missed each other. It was beautiful to see.
It had only been two weeks since the province of Ontario went into stage three of the COVID-19 lockdowns, so I expected that these two ladies hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, after all the global pandemic had by this time been approaching a year and a half. The simple pleasure of sitting in a café and pulling out your laptop had now felt like a rare luxury and everyone including myself and these two women were taking it for everything it’s worth. As the two women grabbed their drinks and sat down, they immediately began engaging in a conversation that was impossible to ignore as they spoke at a volume you’d expect to hear at a loud nightclub. I tried my best to stay focused while typing, keeping in mind that my twenty-five minute timer was speedily ticking away.
Then it happened!
About two and half minutes into the ladies conversation, they suddenly began trashing, slaughtering and cursing out every single co-worker, neighbour, manager, politician and relatives including their children. It was a bloodbath of words and I was left in awe. What had happened to the pleasant looking women that met up to share a cup of coffee and catch up after a challenging year of lockdowns? Where did the smiles and sweet hugs and laughter go? What were these ladies expecting to gain from this conversation that could add value to their lives? I was mentally speechless and after a minute of trying to block them out, I was forced to grab my headphones and cue my relaxing lofi instrumentals. I sighed with relief as their voices became faint complaints of white noise in the background, while the sounds of 808 drums, flutes and saxophones became my new atmosphere. What a toxic conversation I thought to myself. Here were two middle aged women, decked in beautiful summer dresses, sitting for brunch mid day in a chic café and all they came to do was gossip and bash other people, who most likely have no clue that they’re being spoken of in this way. Wow! Thank goodness I was able to filter their conversation out with my music. But it does shed light on a very important aspect of life that could benefit immensely from applying the filtered coffee perspective, and that’s words.
Words are super powerful. They’re powerful enough to break the toughest of egos and inspiring enough to rebuild the most broken dreams. If such a power isn’t carefully utilized, it can really cause some damage. Damage to those who speak harmful words and also to those who hear them.
When people speak doubtful and harassing words around you or to you, filter them out. When friends or colleagues approach you and try to lure you into a gossiping frenzy against your boss or other employees, simply change the conversation and if necessary walk away. When the words of a book, show, magazine or the ones that formulate in your own mind try to present a toxic or destructive narrative to you, find a way to filter. If you have to listen to relaxing music to change the tone, do it. If you have to switch the TV off do it. Close the app, switch your seat and even find new friends if it means that. Because the long-term effect that negative words can have on a person can contaminate the heart and cause bitterness, hopelessness and discouragement in ways that are incredibly difficult to repair. Filter your coffee, to enjoy your coffee...
I hope you enjoyed this short excerpt from my book, "ENJOY YOUR COFFEE."
The book is going to be all about cultivating a wholesome perspective on life, business an d relationships in order to brew a better life, well that's not the tag line, but I can't give everything away (hehe)
What'd you think? Is this something you might read or recommend to a friend? I'd love to hear your honest feedback as it can really help me during this creative process!
I love you all and welcome your feedback. Thank you for your time :)
Daniel