There is a memory in my life that appears without warning; they are part of those memories that sometimes one does not want to bring to the present because they shake you and force you to face those circumstances that you did not decide to face.
In my community, for a long time we lived a rather complicated reality; something as vital as the electricity service failed constantly, usually during the nights, it was like that unwelcome visitor that came to accompany an intense silence accompanied by heat and darkness.
I remember how at first it was frustrating, it tended to irritate me and even wear me down and tire me out; the lack of light became just another excuse to lose my patience, to fight with everything around me, and to feel that life was overflowing in the blink of an eye.
But one day, amidst so much darkness and forced to make a change, I decided to do something completely different. I stopped complaining, stopped fighting for something that was entirely inevitable. In the midst of it all, I understood that I couldn't alter anything that was happening, that no matter how desperate I was to be patient and keep waiting, I couldn't turn on the light even though I longed for it, I couldn't fight the whole world, nor force the night to be brighter. But I could choose how to live that moment, and that's where coffee came into the picture in a way I never imagined.
To many, it might have seemed quite strange to drink coffee in the heat and darkness. But while everything around me felt odd, my cup of coffee became a warm refuge, offering me peace and patience. As my entire community slept, as the streets went dark, I decided to turn on a flashlight, hold my cup in my hands, and give myself a space to breathe, think, organize my thoughts, to simply be myself.
And you know what was most curious? This coffee didn't just have a characteristic coffee flavor; it tended to bring me calm, it allowed me to pause, it allowed me to live in acceptance. I learned that we can't always control what happens around us, but we can control what happens within us. I understood that resilience isn't always manifested through grand speeches or big decisions, but in small gestures that allow us to live in peace with ourselves.
That's why today, when I entered the community and saw this proposal, these thoughts came to me: that hateful moment that over time became beautiful, and with which I learned that coffee is not always just coffee; sometimes it's a warm hug, sometimes unexpected company, and often it's the light when everything around it goes out.
Because in the midst of adversity, sometimes all we need is to stay put, feel, breathe, and drink coffee.
I thank you in advance for dedicating part of your valuable time to read my work and may God multiply the support you give to my publication. Blessings.
All photos used here are my property and were taken with the camera of my Redmi Note 9T phone. The design was made with the GridArt application.
