FALL IN LOVE MORE OFTEN

It’s 8:05 AM and two strangers walk into a coffee shop at exactly the same time.

They don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to fall in love and one of them is not.

They both have important meetings to attend that morning and both must leave by exactly 8:20 to arrive on time.

Kate stands in line fidgeting with her phone, scrolling on social as she impatiently waits to make her order.

Cliff on the other hand, takes the moment to look around him this morning. He breathes in the familiar scent of coffee and baked goods.

Kate looks up from her phone to see the barista smiling at her, it’s her turn to order. She feels silly, “why didn’t I decide before?”

A few minutes later Kate “finally” gets her coffee, she’s been stressing looking at the clock. She only has 5 minutes left. She decides to grab her coffee and pastry to go, and heads out the door early.

She’ll end up eating it distractedly in the car and arriving 5 minutes earlier than she needed to, then she’ll hurriedly head on into her meeting, never pausing for a moment.

Going back in time a few minutes. We see Cliff as he smiles at the somewhat harried Barista, he greets them by name and you can see a little bit of anxious energy lift from their shoulders.

“Hey Cliff, what can I get you today?”

Just my usual please, it’s still my favorite.

Cliff looks at his clock and thinks to himself, “I still have 10 minutes.”

He grabs a seat while he waits for his coffee and bagel. And he enjoys a few minutes doing something he loves.

We can choose our own adventure here…

If Cliff is a people person, he might see a coffee shop friend and wave them over for a conversation.

If he’s an introvert he might grab his phone at this point, but instead of endless scrolling he picks up where he left off in his favorite book, fiction, non fiction, it doesn’t really matter to Cliff, he loves them all.

A few minutes later, Cliff’s fun is interrupted by more good news, his coffee and bagel are ready.

Cliff takes the time to enjoy the bagel and the first few sips of his coffee in the ambience of the shop.

As he walks out the front door waving goodbye to the Baristas, he smiles and thinks to himself, “today is going to be a good day.”

Cliff didn’t found his soulmate this morning, actually he found her 10 years ago and they’ve been walking hand in hand through life ever since.

But cliff fell in love again for the countless time, with his beautiful ordinary life.

THE LESSON:

We all have the same 24 hours, how we choose to use them is what will shape our moments, our days, and our lives.

I’d like to invite us all to fall in love more often with the beauty all around us. That rich tapestry of small delights and wonders that we so often pass by in a blur of unessential hurry.

“Will this help me get healthier, build wealth, and deepen my understanding of the world?”

In the short term, not always.

In the long term, absolutely.

Unsure? Just give it a try for the next 15 minutes starting now…

See you next Thursday!

Geno Schmelzer,