Ethiopian Coffee Experience...

As a result of serendipitous luck, Kyle and I had a completely new cultural experience today. We had decided to attend the World Festival with the hope of finding some delicious food for lunch. What we stumbled upon, however, was even more amazing. A beautiful woman sat in the corner of the building, roasting coffee beans over a hot plate. She was simulating an ancient coffee ceremony. After the beans were a toasty black color, they were ground and then placed inside a blackened clay pot with some hot water. The coffee seeped in the pot for quite awhile before she served it to us, resulting in the creation of a very strong little dose of java. Sugar must have been added at some point too because the taste was rather sweet. Though I haven't been drinking coffee lately, it was really special to sample her brew. Some historians claim that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia. How cool to think that we were tasting a bit of history. As we sipped on our little cup of coffee and snacked on some freshly popped popcorn and other ethnic offerings, I found myself feeling so amazed by the social rituals that surround that archaic beverage. While we waited, the people around us began to initiate dialog and ask questions. We realized that we had commonalities and shared interests. No one seemed stressed or anxious for the coffee to come. We all knew that it would be ready at the right time. There was a sense of peace in the belief that the product would somehow be worth the wait. And it was! Ethiopian culture still supports the notion that the process is a part of the whole experience. In our U.S. society, we are all about quick results and mass production. We have traded our "processing" time for more time to run around like chickens with our heads cut off. As a result, I feel that we are losing touch with quality, as well as with what truly matters in our lives; our relationships. Friendships are fostered and strengthened during the quiet pauses of our hectic schedules. Being present and aware from one step to the next allows us to learn more about ourselves and about those special people we surround ourselves with. In this dynamic world we are living in, there is a sense of pride that comes from productivity. Sadly, there is a devastating result of that need for more and more. We are becoming a disconnected people, who are emotionally unhealthy and imbalanced. In our self-imposed alienation we are forgetting to acknowledge that life is meant to be shared. Is more truly more, or is less more? A difficult question that depends upon ones perspective. Today, however, I was reminded of the fact that in many ways, less is more! Cheers to simplicity!