Greetings Dear Readers,
Some time ago I wrote to you about the joys of properly cleaning and caring for a coffee pot. I do not drink a lot of coffee but when I do, I truly enjoy it. Properly grinding the beans, filling the carafe with cool clean water, and watching the rich brown liquid flow from a well cared-for coffee maker are an exercise in luxury and leisure for me. Adding the sweetener and cream to my favorite cup and watching the coffee turn the color of brown sugar further heightens my anticipation. Lifting that cup taking in the aroma, and indulging in that first sips is truly a morning pleasure that I relish.
A few weeks ago someone offered to make coffee for me. I was in the midst of writing and agreed to forgo the preparation ritual in favor of keeping the muse happy whilst she feigned to visit my mind and fingers. The muse was soon chased away anyway. My kind coffee preparer returned to me moments later quite distraught. Apparently there had been an accidental collision of the glass carafe with the faucet head and the faucet head won. The carafe was in the sink in pieces.
Understand that I have a coffee maker that is very good to me. It has a timer so coffee can be ready as soon as I get up if I wish it. It brews very quickly because it is clean and free of mineral deposits. I can snatch the carafe from under the luscious black flow during brewing and it stop the brewing until I return the carafe. It is a great coffee maker that is completely useless without its carafe.
On that particular morning the solution was an easy one as I had a second coffee maker in reserve. It is not as nice as my older one, but I was able to have coffee. I packed up my favorite coffee maker determined to acquire a new carafe and bring the machine back to usefulness. That was almost a month ago. I searched the internet for a replacement pot and saw that for $20 I could get a glass carafe and for $35 I could get a stainless steel one that would never break. I decided that I would do this.
This past Saturday I was at a local thrift store and found the carafe that fits my coffee maker for only $2. Sunday morning I enjoyed my coffee ritual for far less and far sooner than I had expected. What struck me as I watched the coffee flow into the carafe was the number of discarded coffee makers I had seen at the thrift store?
Why do we discard that which still serves us? Why do I leave behind things that still can work with a little effort on my part? I think it is a part of our culture that we give up on things once they fail us. We replace rather than repair. We get the newer and faster and set aside the older and slower. Having gone through that very treatment from my beloved Avalon, I am trying to be more cognizant of the things I leave behind that I should not. People and relationships matter. Things that are still of use matter. In our disposable society, I must not fall into the trap that the family and friendships I have are not a part of that culture.
I cannot control what others do, but it is not my right to discard those that Christ has placed into my life.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
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As usual, Dear One, your writings are something I look forward to. I hope someday you will put these thoughts in a small book.
ReplyDeleteThe morning ritual of coffee is one I also truly love, the aroma, the anticipation of that first taste.
In our disposable society, the companies that produce the products are making sure it is cheaper to buy a new product rather than have one repaired. They also create products that will not last as long as they used to. My 1985 Chevy Van was built to last and did for 200,000 miles. I do not think my newer auto will do that even though I take good care of it.
Keep writing.
Dearest Aramis,
ReplyDeleteI do have to thank you for this post as mornings are always hectic for me. As I was planning out tomorrow, and the one thing that makes me calm just for that second to get a breath, or to get out of bed is the thought of that first cup of tea. Happy to hear you have your beloved coffee.