A Ritual that anchors your day

Coffee is not your day.

Unless you are deep into the coffee industry, coffee isn’t how you spend your day. It’s the thing that gets you going in the morning. It’s not the thing that is taking up most of your attention from dawn until dusk.

Can I make an argument, though, that coffee can (and should) be so much more than a quick hit of caffeine in the morning?

I truly believe that the rhythms of our day-in and day-out lives have a lot to do with the quality of our mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

So let’s make coffee an intentional practice of being present.

Grind fresh. Always.

Smell the grounds.

Name what you smell.

Let the aroma call your attention back to a memory. Reminisce.

And then brew.

Use a specific brewer and a specific recipe. Pay attention to the temperature of the water.

Ask yourself, after the grounds have been made wet, “how has the aroma changed?”

And once the brew is over, pick out a mug that suits the coffee. Or perhaps one that suits your mood.

Drink it as you wrap your head around the day ahead, whether that’s in your favorite chair by yourself, in the car on your way to work, or while watching the kids play in the living room (the one you just cleaned up the night before).

And at least once while you sip, express gratitude: to the hands on a farm that brought you your coffee, or to the day ahead ripe with potential. Be grateful.

And do it again tomorrow.

Coffee is not your day, but it can absolutely be a ritual anchor that makes your day, and your life, better.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” -Annie Dillard