Coffee Break with the Chief BaristaJune/July 2010
Life is so good!
I remember driving past an enormous new mansion and thinking, “Boy, how many people could have been fed with the money it took to buy it? Doesn’t the owner realize that there are people out there who have nowhere to live and very little to eat?”
I’ve come to a new understanding about buying big. It occurs to me that the mansion isn't preventing anyone from eating or having money of their own. In fact, the purchase and the building of that mansion did provide for others. It employed people to build it, those people used the money they earned to buy groceries and clothing for their children and the recipients of those dollars paid their mortgages and daycare, which gave paychecks to childcare workers, and on and on.
Spending money IS giving to others. It stimulates the economy. Have you noticed that people who are demonizing money are the ones who are wanting it most? And who’s to say those very rich people aren’t quietly doing even more to help others?
So the next time you see a hot Lamborghini or a fabulous mansion, extend a silent thank you to the person who made so much possible for so many others.
And when it gets right down to it, whether you drive a Mercedes Benz McLaren Roadster ($495,000) or my car (not a Mercedes Benz McLaren Roadster), there is nothing more delicious than joy. And there is no one who has a corner on the joy market. Joy is available to everyone.
Has it been a while since you’ve felt joyful? The lack of joy, I believe, is really based on something fairly simple: when we are not joyful, it’s usually because we have become very aware of what we want and that we do not currently have it. Perhaps it’s lack of money or lack of good health or lack of any resource. Yet all of these situations can benefit from joy.
But how can we be joyful when we are wanting something, when we’re sad or when we feel awful? If you have ever felt good and then turned on the TV and saw something terrible and then felt sad because of it, then you know this — your thoughts created your feelings. After all, you felt fine until you turned on the television.
Joy sometimes takes a little practice. So many of us were trained to be lazy thinkers. We just go about our day, focusing on what IS. We focus on the slow-moving economy, we focus on the lack of money in our bank accounts, we focus on needing new tires for our car or a new roof for our house. Not only do we focus on it, we talk about it — over and over and over. And while all of those things may be true, incessantly focusing on them is just plain lazy and it makes you feel bad and does nothing to help the slow-moving economy.
You might say, “Well it’s true! The economy is bad, my house needs a roof, my car needs tires and I don’t have enough money.” Yes, and if you keep focusing on it, your future will be full it — unwanted things and events. You just can’t find answers and solutions to problems when you are relentlessly focused on the problem and feeling despair.
Answers come when we stop focusing on the problem and find things to think about that make us feel good — things to appreciate. And who can’t find something to appreciate? Joy and appreciation open our minds and our hearts to possibilities.
So if there are things in your life that you are wanting, rather than feeling sad or discouraged, find a way to feel hopeful. Use your mind to imagine how good it feels to have the thing you are wanting. Every day I say this to myself: “I’m happy where I am and I’m eager for what’s coming.” It’s a good feeling to be content where I am, no matter what IS.
Speaking of joy, now that my son is 15, holidays, such as Mother’s Day, aren’t quite what they used to be. He still seems to enjoy them, but when he was younger, any old excuse for a fun day would do. In all honesty, I love Mother’s Day, even if it means nothing more than hearing those six little words — “Happy Mother’s Day, what’s for breakfast?”
This Father’s Day, June 20, consider giving your father the joy of hearing six little words — Happy Father’s Day. I love you. As a parent, there’s really nothing better than those words (and a turbo-charged bread machine would be nice!).
I’m looking forward to enjoying a beautiful summer as I find more and more to appreciate every day. There are just so many good things happening all around us. If you’re a photographer — professional or amateur — I hope that you will participate in our “Summer Fun” photography contest. We’d love to share your photos with other
Java Journal readers.
Marian Rein