I’ve been on a journey. No, not one with a destination, but rather one of the mind. One that has no direction with no compass or map. One that never ends. The journey of mental wellness, the journey we all take whether we acknowledge it or not. While there is no right path to take, I have found that it is comforting to listen to others’ trail tales. Here is a glimpse into mine- a picture of my life. How I found joy in the mundane and peace in the stillness.
Being a freshman trying to stick my foot into the door of a career in journalism, I have found myself quite busy. Every day falls into a cycle of waking up, going to class, eating, going to a meeting, then sleeping. This is not to say that I don’t like being busy- in fact, the truth is the opposite. Staying busy keeps my mind occupied. My worries fade into the background of my thoughts as I contemplate pitch ideas and rush to my next class. There was one day when I felt especially stressed. I had been on my feet all day, racing between classes, food halls, and meetings. By the time I returned to my dorm that night, there was no time to reflect on my day or listen to my thoughts. I was too tired, too fatigued, too… busy. That’s what I realized at that moment. Even in the time in which I was supposed to unwind, I felt so busy, like relaxation was a chore. So, I spared a moment for myself. I took a deep breath and asked myself, “what do I want to do?” I paused, then I knew. I wanted a cup of coffee.
I carefully spooned three scoops of coffee grounds into the vessel and bloomed them with a splash of steaming water. I firmly submerged the plunge until it was flush with the water line. Then, I waited, and in this waiting, I found peace. For me, brewing coffee is a labor of love. It slows me down, allowing me five minutes of patience, and as the coffee steeps, so do I. My mind softens and my thoughts are dispelled into nothing but anticipation. When I deemed the coffee brewed, it was time for extraction. I depressed the plunge further, cautiously, so as to not allow any grounds through the filter. Finally, it was finished. I poured it into a glass over ice and released the breath I hadn’t realized was trapped inside of me for a minute, an hour, a day, a lifetime.
Maybe this is what life is about. Stress, anxiety, anger… it all disappears from my body at the first taste of my coffee. Maybe this isn’t just about coffee. It’s the love I show myself in the act of making a cup. It’s the care I put into the brewing process. It’s the slow, mundane acts of patience in our everyday lives that make us connect with the peace inside of ourselves. There’s an infinite joy to be found in watering plants, exuberance in writing in a journal, balance found in making our beds, stillness in the daily commute. Mindfulness is the key to unlocking these gentle moments with ourselves, and the more mindful I become, the more joy and relief I welcome into my life. These menial tasks bleed into our routines, but I believe that when we stop in our tracks and thank ourselves for once again indulging in the ordinary, life becomes magnificent.
To close, I offer a meditation; At this moment, all is still with me. I am the quiet that I need, and my life is beautiful, not despite the hustle and bustle, but because of it. My life is beautiful because of my small pleasures, my quiet moments.