I am on my second day of no caffeine. Let’s just say, I’m not exactly a spark plug in the morning. I started this process to help my gut heal; a short-term step to improve my health. But this experiment has me looking deeper into why I like coffee and the impact it has on my life.
We are a culture of addiction with most of us are under the influence of some form of drug, i.e., caffeine, drugs, alcohol, and/or sugar. Think about this for yourself. Like me, do you wake up daily to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee or a heavenly sweet danish? Caffeine and sugar; what better way to start your day.
This minor break from caffeine for me has me observing all kinds of behavioral and emotional shifts. For example, I have no bounce in the morning the first couple of hours at work. Flat, no energy. I’m foggy and lack the clarity I’ve experienced in the past. Coffee was my propellant.
And of course there are the minor withdrawals – a headache in the morning. A longing for coffee (aka. caffeine) around 2:00 pm. I’m thinking about an espresso as I write.
So what’s your drug? Literally? What gets you through the day or night? If you remove that attachment from your life, how would your life be different? What would it take to make you give up your attachment? My encouragement to you is to look at your attachments and addictions and look to make a change…even if it’s only a small step like giving up coffee or sugar for one week.
I don’t know how long my experiment will last, but if what I read earlier today is true –
” If we stay present to our discomfort, we will also feel something else arising, something more real, capable, sensitive, and exquisitely aware of ourselves and our surroundings.”
It just might be worth the effort.
Ten Graces, LLC 