Caffeine Community Essay

As we go about our busy lives, going here, there and everywhere like a colony of ants building up supplies for the winter, we never truly take a moment to look at the world around us, stop to smell the roses, to coin a popular phrase. We never seem to take in the sights, sounds, smells and feelings that we often disconnect ourselves from in our obsession to make the world a perfect place. There is hardly a moment that we stop to notice the other people around us that even though we do not know them from Adam, they could enrich our lives without us even knowing it, if we just took the time for a smile and polite hello. These people can remind us that there is a diverse world of goals and aspirations. It is quite amazing where such an event can happen. Going for a daily coffee at a favorite cafe can bring about this epiphany. As one sits in this modern coffee shop that caters to the needs of young and old alike, one can look around and simply see the decorative art work on the walls, the small scratches in the table that sits in front of you. But let’s look at little deeper and see the true character of the environment around us. What brought about the scratch in the table. Is it just normal every day wear and tear caused by the many people coming and going to take in their hurried morning coffee or could it, perhaps, be caused by say a bored teenager waiting for the long walk to school, using their pen to make back and forth marks in the table. As one sits and contemplates this, they can take a look around and recognize the other sights, sounds and smells of the little cafe. As one looks two tables away, an elderly man helps his wife to the seat at their table with a gentle hand and beaming smile. They look into each other’s eyes lovingly as a couple would do in an old time movie. He tells her,† have a seat dear and I’ll get our coffees. I still love you very much. The distinct voice patterns give away the fact that they are from New York, but they are very much home in their little coffee community. As the manager of the store brings over their order, they engage him in conversation about how he likes working at this particular place. In the meantime, a young man with the burly looks of a high school football player sits at the table next to the older couple and the gentleman begins a lively chat about the sport of football. A sudden, intoxicating smell of fresh brewed coffee and warm toasted bagels brings you out of your daydreams of a long and loving life with the man that you love, caused by the very happy couple. You look around to see a small table at the center of the busy room. There sit a mother and young daughter. The mother seated at the edge of her seat at the table, sipping on her steamy latte, and desperately trying to relate to her young teenage daughter in an attempt to keep the close relationship with her that she shared when the girl was little and thought that her mother was the only person in the world. The young daughter, dressed in what appears to be a dingy soccer uniform, absently sips on her orange juice with a distant look in her eyes thinking that she would much rather anywhere else but here with her boring mother. Thinking perhaps of that grassy field where she could be playing soccer with her friends, or maybe she is in chemistry class, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the cute boy across the room that she has a crush on. The mother gets a mixed expression of pain and lonliness on her face as she realizes that as she tries to hold onto her daughter, that the young girl is slowly drifting away. But that is the way of life, we do all we can to keep the bonds with our children even though deep down we realize that one day soon, we will have to send them from the nest to live their own lives. As the mother and daughter leave to spend their day with separate agendas, you hear the grating of metal against stone and look around to find the cause of the noise that makes your skin crawl and teeth hurt. You look up to see that the table by the window has grown from a six seat table for a cozy conversation for a small group, to a table fit for a King’s Court. Several smaller tables have been added to the larger one, reminding you of someone trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. The creators of this elaborate set up are the group of regular coffee drinkers that start each day enjoying each other’s company and sharing their lives with each other. They are so diverse in appearance and personality. There is Martha with her perfectly coifed hair, outrageously oversized jewelry and too bright red lipstick, she is outspoken and her laugh sounds eerily like a hyena. She laughs and gathers everyone around her wanting to be the center of attention because maybe she is ignored at home. Sitting next to Martha is Charles. The tall, slender man sits back in his chair with the ease of man who is comfortable with himself and the way his life is. He is wearing a set of earphones with a microphone on them and one wonders why on earth what use he would have for such a contraption. Then the question is answered a few minutes later when he places a hand held amplifier to his neck and welcomes the newcomers to the table with a hardy good morning and a beaming smile, sounding very much like an electronic voice from a computer. He obviously has had some tragedy that has caused him to lose the use of his vocal cords and possibly hearing and the entire set up is a way for him to communicate with others. The use of this machine is an everyday occurrence and is second nature to him now. Like he doesn’t even know it is there. One has to wonder how this all came about. Is this a case of perfect strangers coming to start their lives each day in the same place? Perhaps this group of unique and diverse friends starts out with a simple smile, with an apprehensive good morning, like children on a playground for the first day of school trying to decide if it is okay to play with each other. Is it possible in this modern world where most people are concerned with number one that there are still people out there that are truly content with inviting others into their little world? You catch an additional name here and there, Tom, Grace, John and Mike. The smiles from the friends are genuine and the laughter is contagious. Everyone at this table is completely different in every way, yet very much the same. A diverse group with different backgrounds, goals, dreams, that found a common bond floating in a steamy, rich drink. Perhaps this group of friends started out like the two young men at the table next to mine. It is hard not to eavesdrop on the lighthearted and endearing conversation that these two obviously longtime friends are having. The two men were best friends in school and because of circumstances beyond their control, were separated to live their own lives. After spending four years being completely inseparable, the first young man left the country to protect the freedoms of his friend, while the second young man went on to college to earn a degree to protect the rights of the second young man. Relaxed and happy as if it has not been ten years since they have seen each other, only keeping in touch through emails and the occasional phone call. The young men chatter on about their lives and families as easily as a pair of school girls talking about the upcoming dance and what they are going to wear. They shuffle through a stack of pictures of the lives that they shared together and separately. Pointing and laughing at the precious, shared memories of times past, reliving the past as it was only yesterday. When they first entered the cafe, the small amount of tension was obvious as they barely spoke as they ordered their coffees and bagels and then waited to pay. By the time they sat down across from each other they were talking more freely and growing more comfortable with each other’s company. Watching these two men can make someone almost want to relive the past. Maybe go back and do things differently with a life that is half way gone. Looking at other people’s lives is like looking at a picture through a glass of water. We think we know what the real image is, it may look clear as a bell, but if we slow down for just a moment, remove the obstacle of the water and look closely and listen with earnest, we see that the picture we are envisioning in our minds may not be the reality of the lives we are surrounded by in this world. We tend to be so self-absorbed in our own lives, in our little world that leads us to believe that is revolves around us, which causes us to forget to look at the big picture and realize that we are all here together. There is an abundance of diversity and culture that we can see and listen to and learn from, and if we take the time to open ourselves up to others, to share what we feel and want with them and at the same time accept what they have to teach us about our lives, that we can enhance and enrich our lives in so many ways.