Posted in A Moment in My Life

“The Next Best Thing to a Good Friend”

A Moment in My Life – Monday, January 11, 2021

A smile spread across my face as the sip of freshly brewed coffee filled me with warmth in the cool morning air, warming me from the inside out. I cup my hands around my Hilo Bistro mug, and the warmth tingled on the tips of my fingers and palms of my hands, warming me from the outside in. These little pleasures may seem small but make an effortless difference that can lift your spirits and miraculously make everything okay, if only for a moment.

A cup of coffee doesn’t make your troubles go away. It’s like a good friend who knows you better than you know yourself, who knows the right words you need to hear to redirect your thinking away from what was troubling you long enough for you to refocus your attitude. Life happens. It happens for a reason. It may not be the way we wanted or expected it to be, but it is what it is. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do about it. Worrying about it or being upset by it won’t make any difference in the slightest. 

A good cup of hot coffee is a better friend, who talks sense into you over your heartbreak than a glass of wine, who would only soothe you, letting you believe whatever you want until you forget your hurt when you pass out. 

I sipped my coffee and mulled over, feeling stupid while chastising myself for being naïve in believing the nameless celebrity’s inviting us to text him meant he’d read all his texts himself. I beat myself up for wasting my time composing that long text telling him how much his creative artistry inspired me. I took time and put much thought into that message. The corners of my lips shot upward as I hit send, only to have those corners droop when I immediately received an auto-reply instructing me to add my contact info to his directory. At that moment, my heart sank. I realized that it was an advertising scheme to gather contacts for his promotions. My first thought was my heartfelt message that was meant for his eyes ended up in the abyss, never seen by human eyes. I scolded myself for being way too old to expect such a juvenile outcome from somebody who knows me as a nobody. 

I kept sipping my coffee, and like a true friend, she reminded me that age has no bearing in life situations. We are human with emotions, needs, and desires. There is nothing wrong with that, and there is no shame in any of our feelings. We have personal expectations, and if they aren’t met, we are entitled to feel accordingly. With each sip, she made me stop beating myself up and feeling down. Instead, like the good friend that she is, she reminded me to chin up and that what I don’t know doesn’t necessarily mean things won’t work themselves out in the end. The outcome doesn’t necessarily mean that nobody would read those texts. It was more realistic that eventually, someone would address them, it’s just a matter of time, and my spirits lifted with each sip.  

I might not have any control over my life situations, but I can enjoy a good cup of coffee whenever I want. As I sip, I am comforted with its warmth, and my mind becomes clearer, and things don’t seem so hopeless. What changed? My attitude. A good satisfying coffee puts a smile on my face, warms my soul, lifts my spirit, and gives me a better perspective, which changes my attitude. In these times, when we can’t be with our buddies, a good cup of coffee is the next best thing to a good friend.  

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