Life is experiential and coffee is a great example of that.
Today's cup from The Raleigh Times.
Coffee as an Experience
The cup of coffee is good, but not because of to the taste, or the heat, or the physical sensation of the cup. It’s not the people in the coffeeshop, or the feeling of the caffeine, or the act of spending a bit of money for something fun.
It’s not any of those things - but it is all of those things.
Obviously if I just pay you $2 and don’t get anything, that is not a fun experience. But paying and then getting the coffee is great - it’s like, “yeah, I earned this coffee, now I’m gonna enjoy it.”
Or the coffeeshop could say “Free coffee for you today” and then the absence of paying makes you feel good. This feels better than, say, “free” coffee from your kitchen at home, because at the store you are subverting the expectation of the coffee.
Coffee is an extreme example of experiential elements: The bitterness is intense. The heat is too much to drink, then there’s a small time-window of warmth until it becomes cold - drink up, now! Meanwhile the caffeine is a surprisingly strong drug given how little we think about it.
But - the bitterness wakes me up, and the small window of temperature is fun because there’s the anticipation and then the few minutes where you gloriously drink most of the cup.
Coffee is not a drink. It’s an experience, a wonderful fun one.
Life is Context Soup
Everything in life is mostly like that. It’s all a vat of context soup sloshing around and we’re bathing in it.
It’s a good reminder to change things up, always. The honeymoon period is amazing and we can experience it over and over if we keep seeking new adventures, new experiences, to fling ourselves into.
What’s in your cup today?
