Simple Pleasures

In the busyness of life I think it is important to stop and recognize and appreciate the simple pleasures in life, like daily routines or experiences, that help us decompression from the stress of work and life.

So two simple pleasures from my day today are illustrative of this.  The first is something I enjoy every morning, and the other something I usually enjoy a few evenings a week.

About a year ago I started drinking coffee.  My primary reason for doing so was to experiment with improving my athletic performance  (weight training, running, biking and XC in winter).  A few years ago I had started taking caffeine tablets before working out since I did not get much caffeine any other way.  But last year I thought I would give coffee a try. A few years ago I tried drinking coffee, but gave up after only a week.  This time I was determined to be more persistent in forging a new daily routine of coffee consumption.

Each morning for the past year I begin my day with making some fresh coffee with my French coffee press.  Also, I never have my coffee in a coffee mug.  Instead, I have my coffee in a double wall thermal glass, like this one (which I saw someone using in a video when I was researching coffee):

I don't really know why, but I need to use these cups.  I rarely ever have coffee outside my house.  

The other odd thing is that I still, after a year of drinking coffee, do not really care for its taste.  I have a small dash of milk, nothing else, and drink two cups an hour before going to the gym.  But the pleasure I have come to enjoy is the practice of sipping coffee while I read over the news, check emails, pet my dog, etc. in the morning.  I think it is the calming morning routine of my coffee practice that has given my mornings some more pleasure.  Before drinking coffee, I would awake and head straight to the gym or for a cardio workout.  But now I appreciate the starting the day with some time to awaken before exercise.  It also gives the caffeine time to work its way through my system before exercise.

A second small source of pleasure is watching the cooking TV show Beat Bobby Flay.  The older I get I find I have less patience I have for watching TV, but cooking shows are the exception.  In the evening I find it relaxing and enjoyable to watch this particular show, which pits 2 outside chefs against each other in the first round, and the victor then takes on Bobby (who usually wins).  In the round with Bobby the outside chef gets to pick the dish they both have to cook.  So there is competition, and you get to watch the cooking process.  Watching an episode of that show helps me escape from the stress and grind of work.

The reason I decided to post about this topic is that I think it is so easy for us to forget or neglect small daily activities that bring pleasure.  I have noticed that, over the past 10-15 years most people's attention seems consumed to be consumed more and more by social media use and being on their phones.  I have intentionally chosen to live a life that is "text" and "social media" minimal.  I am vigilant about ensuring that my time and attention is primarily devoted to quality in-person time with family and friends, exercise and research and teaching.  But the little habits, like coffee in the morning or the entertainment of a TV show in the evening, are also important. And therefore worthy of a short blog post! 

Cheers, 

Colin