A Coffee Hero

Ever since being a remote worker, basing myself in the corner of any coffee shop with a power supply and sturdy table, I have found the environment a fascinating world of stories, the crossing of paths or individual moments of peace, an inch away from the constant grind the other side of that steamed up window.

Having been what I would call a true coffee connoisseur and on first name terms in many of my local Coffee shops, spending most of my work life head deep in my laptop typing away, sipping what is often now turned cold coffee after time gets the better of me enough to leave me stirring the settled parts of what was a work of art toasty large mocha. It always leads me to start to people watch and just take in the surroundings of chatting friends, work colleagues, the clinking of mugs and grinding of coffee beans creating a symphony of music together.

But it wasn't until I eagerly binge-watched my latest quick Netflix series into late hours of a Wednesday evening when my brain just didn't want to allow me to sleep. You know the nights, you lay in bed body completely ready to shut off, but your brain decides its not time for sleeping (might have been the amount of coffee now I’m thinking it back) but whatever position you turn, one leg in, one leg out, it consumes you to switch on the iPad and just watch the first episode.

Well allowing my brain to win, the first episode turned into the entire series. Now able to see the glisten of the sun rising up and the darkness of the night begin to lift, my body beyond needing a recharge. I couldn't help but feel that the impact of coffee or even more so going to a place to sit down for a coffee can have such a powerful impact on a person, literally, it seriously could save peoples lives.

Now before you start to think I have kept you reading this long to share some new groundbreaking discovery that coffee is going to be a benefit to our health and wellbeing. That not what this story is about but what we are talking about is the impact a simple cup of coffee can have and just how much it could change someone’s life.

Going back to the Netflix series I had just engrossed myself into for three hours was Ricky Gervais - After Life (Season 2), which I highly recommend anyone who hasn't seen this series, to go and have a look as I truly believe this is Ricky Gervais at his best and for many, it's a side they would never have seen him show before. I am not going to give any spoilers to the series (I will be posting up another story on the series soon, it's the first series I've watched and wanted to write about), but it follows a man called Tony (Ricky Gervais) who has recently lost his wife to cancer and the impact this has on his life after she has gone. Season 2 follows on shortly after the first season and in this season you see more of the people around Tony and how their lives are a struggle for different reasons and how they are coping/not coping with the challenges that face them.

So watching each episode and the stories unfold I couldn't help but attach to the moments where Tony (Ricky Gervais) even within his hardest moments of grief when he noticed one of his work colleagues, friends or family member having a real moment of difficulty, he asked them if they would like to grab a coffee? And its that point there that at what was now 1 o’clock in the morning for me, started the thought process of how much impact this type of action can impact someone beyond what we could ever imagine.

You see we all have our challenges and it's becoming more normal to reach out for help especially with our mental health, but that doesn't mean enough of us simply do go and find that support. We tend to keep it locked up within ourselves and fight the demons alone which often leads to failure so we patch ourselves up and carry on carrying them on our backs until we either completely breakdown or somehow someone reaches out to us and pulls us through.

When Tony asked his colleague for a coffee, they knew of his grief and struggles, so to see him acknowledging they needed someone to talk to causes them to pause before agreeing to join him. It's there you see them sitting down in a completely open, normal coffee shop, drinking their drinks begin to show the power that is held in a cup of coffee. You see we are all trying our best to achieve our goals, support our families or just make it through the day at times, that we can put so much pressure on ourselves that we begin to lose what our aim was and we get a little lost along the way. The world has its strengths but we often find ourselves fighting our way through it alone and then not connecting, sharing our thoughts, worries and feelings with others which allows it to overwhelm us. But that warm feeling of the cup in our hands, the subtle hints and delicate fragrances and someone sitting opposite us wanting to talk and listen can be the best therapy for any person looking for a way to escape their isolation and you never know might just be what they needed to save their lives. Just a simple offer of going for a coffee is not wearing a cape, flying across the city or lifting the weight of a truck. But it might just lift the weight of someone who is crumbling inside enough to help them through and a simple small cup of coffee could unlock more power than any superhero we see in the movies.

So when we are out of lockdown and out in the world again, think of that person who might need a hero coffee moment to help them, a family member, a friend or even a work colleague and let's use the incredible power of going for a coffee to help that person. It might not change your world but it could quite possibly save theirs.

Wanna grab a coffee?

Thanks for reading my post, I am absolutely learning my way into writing with a big goal of mine to finish the book idea I have had in my head for many years now but struggled to get to the page.

This is helping me build my confidence within my writing and idea process so thanks a bunch for taking the time to read it! Follow me on Instagram for more stories coming soon... Sj_hyt89

It's really appreciated and if no one has told you today I appreciate you!!

Thanks