Slow Down And Smell The Coffee

A couple of weekends ago I took my wife for a morning drive to see Texas wildflowers and for a morning coffee. In Lavernia, Texas there is a coffee shop named the Mesquite Bean Coffee Shop which was our ending destination after viewing bluebonnets and other Texas Wild Flowers.

The Mesquite Bean is a clean Texas Country style shop. We decided to sit at the screened in patio area to enjoy our muffins, fresh fruit and coffee. The server, Erin, had a friendly, “welcome to our home” type attitude that added to the experience. As we sat there you could hear the birds in the trees and the morning air was fresh and cool. Just the right setting for a cup of coffee.

As my wife and I sat there it donned on me how relaxing it is to slow down on a Saturday morning to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Just to enjoy conversation, quiet, and nature built in me a sense of gratitude for the miracle of living. I thought back to listening to lectures on Positive Psychology by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar on the importance of taking time to smell the flowers. He was giving us a reminder to appreciate the moment. Be mindful of the little pleasures that add meaning and value to life. Of course at that moment I was taking time to smell the coffee, not the flowers. Breathing in the smell of a good coffee, as the Mesquite Bean Coffee has great coffee, is a savoring process that helped me appreciate just being there in that moment with my wife.

As I looked around the Mesquite Bean Coffee Shop and thought of other coffee shop experiences, I noticed a common thread that they are a place to slow down. Taking time to slow down has benefits to lower stress and savor life. The last couple of weeks I have discussed reading due to National Library Week. So I want to mention that coffee shops are a wonderful place to read. Usually any coffee house I go into there will always be a couple of people reading. If you are looking for a book selection to take the next trip to a coffee shop since I mentioned Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar take a long a copy of his book, Happier or his newer book Choose the Life You Want.

In our town of New Braunfels there are a number of coffee shops: Sertinos, 2 Rivers Coffee, Crosswalk, and New Braunfels Coffee shop. Look in the town you live in and think of the coffee shops in your area. Oh yes, there is a Starbucks in town but personally I like the small independent coffee shops. I have grown tired of the big corporate coffee settings with their agendas and sameness. For the life of me I don’t know why the masses flock to Starbucks and miss the friendly atmosphere and relaxation of an independent coffee shop.

Make it a point especially if you are in a time of stress and everything feels urgent to break away and smell the coffee (or tea if you are a tea drinker as my grandmother was). Either go by yourself and a favorite book or make it a date time with someone significant in your life. You will be glad you took time to savor and enjoy the small things in life.

Reflection:
Look on the internet and see what coffee shops are in your area. Even look within a 25 mile radius as we enjoyed the drive to Lavernia, Texas from our home. Then choose a time to visit a coffee shop you have never been to before.

Savoring Wildflowers in Spring

Over the past month my wife and I have taken several weekend drives throughout different areas of the Texas Hill Country to enjoy the Spring wildflowers. My wife’s favorites are the Texas Bluebonnets. Spring is a refreshing time of year due to the dynamic colors of the flowers breaking out from the drab brown of Winter dormancy of the plants and trees. Recently I have seen a few pictures come up on friends’ Facebook pages of flowers and plants coming alive again up in Ohio and Illinois. They need the refreshing renewal of Spring even more than those of us here in Texas; as they had one of the coldest Winters in a long time. (Makes one wonder about the global warming theorists?? I will leave it at that- think about it).

Flowers call for attention. You can rush by the flowers and miss them and many people do. I feel those who rush by miss out on one of life’s savoring pleasures. On our drives we took country roads around where websites had sightings of bluebonnets. We took our time driving along to spot the flowers and if someone behind was in a hurry we simply pulled off to let them go and kept enjoying our wildflower drive. Where we found open fields of flowers we would stop and take time to meander around in the fields with our cameras taking pictures. The pictures this week come from our flower excursions.

With wildflowers and any flowers there is first of all the big picture enjoyment of gazing at the big picture of the total landscape. Seeing the array of colors mixed with green against the backdrop of the blue skies is an awesome reminder for me personally of the great God artist behind nature. Then I move from the big picture to focusing in on the individual flowers. I am amazed at the intensity of color and the delicate makeup of the flower itself. These close observations make me wonder why is there such a variety of flowers? We went primarily looking for bluebonnets and this year was a great year to find them. At the same time we also enjoyed a variety of yellow, orange, pick and purple flowers along the drive. The variety again drives my mind back to thinking about a Creator God behind the diverse colors and variety of flowers. Of course that thought stems from my belief system. I simply feel the most reasonable explanation for such awesome beauty, complexity and diversity is found in positing a God behind nature. The atheist I guess in their belief, can stand and wonder at the infinitesimal probabilities of random chance chaos popping these flowers into existence out of nothing. So no matter what your belief system is you can still be amazed at the innate beauty of wildflowers in nature.

Taking the time to break out of our busy life to drive around was a relaxing way to de-stress from the stressors of life. We came home rested with a renewed inner joy from seeing the beauty of creation. Maybe you have never taken time to do country drives or going out to nature parks in the Springtime. If you are looking for a new way to break out of the rut of your same old, same old ok life give it a try. Simply check on the internet for parks in your area to visit. Do a search for what wildflowers are natural to your state and area and see where there have seen sightings. Then take a weekend morning or afternoon drive to savor the wildflowers of your areas.

Here are a few websites on wildflowers to explore. The first is the section of the U.S. Forest service website on wildflowers. Then of course being here in Texas I list two websites about wildflowers here in Texas. We live in large diverse country so the Forest Service website showcases information on wildflowers in each geographic area.

U.S. Forest Service - http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers

Texas Wild Flowers - http://texas.wildflowersightings.org

Texas Blue Bonnets - http://www.bluebonnetlove.com

Reflection: Do you take time to notice the Springtime flowers? Do you find yourself too busy for that? Maybe that is a sign you are too busy. Slow down and take time to smell the roses and be awed by the natural beauty of the flowers in your local area.

Building the Habit of Savoring

Another Christmas is here so time to slow down and savor the memories from the distant past and this past year. Writing Christmas cards to friends bring up memories of past interactions and activities with those who have been close over the years. Christmas school plays and holiday church services bring back memories of childhood to reminisce while sipping hot cinnamon apple cider. Christmas is a natural time to savor life as it is a holiday season that has so many memories attached to it. Since it is at the end of the year it allows as a good point to reflect over the events of the past year.

Living the more than ok life we need to savor life throughout the year not just at the end of the year. The benefits of savoring life each week is that we lower our stress levels as we learn to slow down and smell the roses in our daily life. Much of our stress and anxiety come from being on the go, go , go track of life and not noticing what is really going on in our lives. Our lack of in the present mindfulness makes our lives disjointed and disconnected which increases our stressed out feelings of being out of control.

Lisa Graham McMinn author of The Contented Soul: The Art of Savoring Life has this to say about savoring life: “We are surrounded by simple pleasures and the possibility of sipping and savoring our very earthy, very physical life. Contentment awaits us, inviting to savor each moment, and in doing so to honor the God who gave us life”. In her book she gives practical exercises to savor the world around us and to savor our relationship to God. Building up the habit of savoring helps us to see the importance of slowing our lives down, so we can enjoy life and living more.

With savoring, instead of scattering our thoughts continually we learn to take a deep breath and focus on the hummingbird at the feeder; the colored leaves on the tree in autumn; watching the variety of people walking through the mall, while we sit enjoying a cup of coffee. It is appreciating creation and the little joys of life which leads to being thankful in our spirits to the Creator God. Savoring is a habit that brings joy and relaxation into our lives.

Another benefit to savoring it yields the fruit of contentment in our lives which counters the constant urge for more and more stuff in our lives. Christmas has been turned into a consumer buy-a-thon instead of celebrating God’s loves and grace to mankind in the story of Jesus. We can live richer lives in savoring and appreciating what we have instead of a continual angst to desire more and more of the newest commodity to hit the market.

One passage from the writings of the Apostle Paul in Philippians relates to this, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise…. For I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” Be content and savor, soak in all the good in life. If our minds, our thinking, are focused on the good in life and all that is lovely around us we are savoring. We are taking the time to slow down and truly enjoy the life God wants us to enjoy.

I have mentioned slowing down a couple of times. There is a helpful website http://slowdownnow.org on the internet that is focused on encouraging people to slow down and shows the benefits of enjoying a slower life. As this year ends and you work on goals for the New Year make one of your list items for the New Year to take time throughout each week to savor the life around you.

Reflection
Spend 10 minutes sitting outside still in a chair. Sit upright and close your eyes. Listen to the sounds around you. Then open your eyes and stay seated and soak in through your eyes all the details of what you see. Write down your feelings of the experience.

Take a walk quietly through your neighborhood or a nature setting without an I-Pod in your ears. Savor the sights, smells and sounds around you during the walk. Write down the feelings of the experience.

Go to http://slowdownnow.org and jot down a couple of ideas you can incorporate in your life to help you live more slowly.