The Different Ways of Making Coffee

Tom Robb
Tom Robb
Aug 31, 2018 · 2 min read

Moby posted a photo from his home in Los Angeles. It was of his meditation room: a sparse, semi-monastic-looking space. What he wrote as a caption for this photo, though, was what struck me in a big way.

“Years ago I started doing Muay Thai(kickboxing), with @sunnyandsassy . When I first started I would get completely exhausted after even 2 minutes, which confused me, as I wasn’t in terrible shape. And then one day I realized I was getting exhausted because I was tensing all of my muscles before training/sparring. I made a concerted effort to not tense my muscles, and suddenly I wasnt exhausted after 2 minutes. I try to remember this on a daily basis, asking myself: how am I adding unnecessary stress and tension to my life? We all have tons of stress and tension, but working to let go of pointless stress and tension can help you to be happier, healthier, and less irritable. Ok, that’s it.”

What he’s getting at here, without turning this post into 2,000 words, is at the heart of yoga. As it is often said, we learn to find smile in difficult poses. In this way, prior to smiling, we learn to relax and find comfort in our daily situations.

What does this have to do with coffee?

One of my favorite things in the world is to wake up at 5 AM and make coffee for my wife. I also feed the (ravenously hungry) cats. I then write. But I was thinking last night as I was putting away the dishes: “Why not get the coffee set up for tomorrow? Why always prepare it in the morning?” This blindingly obvious idea hadn’t yet occurred to me. So this morning, I made the coffee, but I saved about 3 minutes and I felt at ease. I saved myself some energy first thing in the morning and, above all, I approached the day with a different mindset—one of simplicity. I’m quite sure this one example is the tip of the iceberg.

I hope you all have a restful and stress-free weekend!

Written by

Tom Robb

Tom is the founder of HAIBUN ZINE. He also contributes to LIT UP, OTHER DOORS, and PROMPOSITY magazines. He resides in Denver, CO.

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