Paths Unscripted

A time to wander and ponder

Exploring Life and Literature

I intended to write a full-length essay on my relationship with coffee. But I kept getting distracted by random other things happening in my life. Who knew retirement would be so busy? Additionally, my wife and I are doing a 28-day juicing program which means no coffee during that time. I am doing this for the health benefits and to lose some weight, but I will be glad when it is over. So, this week is a bit of a hodgepodge. There is some coffee talk, but other things are also thrown in the mix. I hope you enjoy.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware of the U.S. elections that took place this past week. I don’t write or discuss politics online for a variety of reasons which are personal but mostly because I have friends from all over the political spectrum and it is hard to have meaningful discourse on difficult topics online. My friend and kindred soul,

Zina Gomez-Liss

wrote a beautiful note last week that I thought captured the essence of this perfectly and I wanted to share it with all of you.

While on the plane from Chicago to Boston I was sitting beside a lovely woman who lives not far from where I do. Somehow our talk drifted to a local political ballot measure. We disagreed. But we listened to each other. In the end neither one of us had our minds changed. We shifted to talking about our lives, our families, and our work.

In knowing more about the whole person you get to see how they decided to vote the way they did. We all make decisions, and they are informed by our values and our experience. We all want a better life, and the great majority of us want other people to have a better life, too.

We can disagree and still love our neighbor. But we need to listen, and frankly social media — Substack Notes included — is not the media for having these human conversations. We need to read, not words, but body language, voice volume, breath making, and pause taking. We are meant to go out in the world and be with our fellow human beings. Don’t be afraid to argue, and don’t be afraid to be engaged in an argument.

Listen to your fellow human beings. Even the ones who shout. Let them feel safe enough to speak in a regular tones. The shouting comes from fear. If you get rid of the fear you will hear why they feel how they feel. Why they do what they do.

The point of life is not to be right all the time. It is not about winning. It is to learn. To adapt. So we love each other better.

The original Note can be found at the link below if you would like to comment.

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Taking a walk with Lola is one of my daily pleasures. We usually head out first thing in the morning after my wife and daughter have departed for the day. During summer, this was essential as the mid-day heat would make the sidewalk unbearably hot for Lola’s paws. In late September and early October we had a fake fall. The temperatures dropped suddenly for about a week. It was beautiful and we enjoyed the cool morning air as Canadian Geese filled the sky with their tell-tale cacophony. Then it started raining. Lola is a bit of a princess and doesn’t enjoy getting wet. She even avoids the grass if there is still dew present. She looks out the window and the rain still falls.

The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

photo by the author

Coffee is a ritualistic experience. I fill the water reservoir, measure the grounds, listen to the pot begin its machinations, and smell the aroma of magic at work. The slowness of the process, the first sip with its bold acidity, and the warmth emanating through the cup and into my hands ground me in the moment.

The early morning moments set the tone for my day. I need the quietness of the morning and the small routines to allow my mind the time it needs to wake and embrace the day to come. I prefer to be alone during this time. It is a spiritual time, a reflective time. A time for stillness.

My friend,

Matt Inwood

, wrote a piece recently on the gradations of quiet.

Quiet

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It is important to be aware of these sacred moments. When searching for purpose, humans tend to seek the extravagant. I think we find truth in small, hidden moments, often taken for granted. When I am quiet, still even, at one with the moment in which I live, my mind is free to observe the unseen. My thoughts venture forth, creating new neural pathways in an unscripted dance with the world around me.

How do we choose to spend our time? In what do we invest our finite energies? Our days are numbered, the hours and minutes constrained by the limitations of human frailty.

Take a walk. Read a book. Drink a cup of coffee. Sit and listen to the birds. Write a poem. These solitary, quiet activities provide me the foundation to go forth into the world, commune with others, and discover a life filled with paths unscripted.

Peco

and

Ruth Gaskovski

published an excellent piece on the benefits of walking.

The Walking Rebellion: Restoring the Mind at Three Miles an Hour

Until next time…