Simple Coffee

Some days I wonder if I’m getting old. I once enjoyed my coffee, all fixed up with different types of foam, syrup, and creamers. You know, the ones with those fancy names made by baristas I’m not cool enough to run in circles with. These days I much prefer a simple coffee, one that feels a little less chaotic.

Simple Coffee

I’ve discovered it has a much better and more refined taste when dumbed down. Even my coffee mugs seem simple. I now prefer an old plain diner mug to the one loaded with words and crazy graphics.

Maybe I’m getting boring.

Maybe I’m just a little reminiscent or enjoy specific memories. Like those of my grandmother sitting at a kitchen table with her Bible opened and a mug of coffee, adding nothing but just a touch of half and half.

Or maybe I prefer simplicity in my life now. I’m not sure. Maybe I’m exactly what some reading this are thinking – He’s strange.

I’ve cut my time back on social media to only a few calculated minutes here and there, trying to escape the noise, returning to a more straightforward method of just blogging my thoughts.

Simplicity, I think, might be my word for the year, which is weird to say because I’ve never considered making a word my word for the year. Yet here I am doing the very thing I’ve mocked or thought to be stupid in the past.

One thing is for sure. I’ve hit a level of productivity and production I haven’t seen in a year, and a lot of it has to do with cutting out the toxic, the chaos, and the noise that endlessly surrounds us.

Simplicity- it isn’t easy to achieve but necessary to endure.

Maybe some people are right. Perhaps I am just a little strange after all.

Maybe, That’s okay

A Hike Through the Woods

A hike through the woods is exactly what I needed yesterday. It wasn’t a long hike, maybe about a mile, but for just a moment, I felt the quiet, which was something I needed. 

A hike through the woods

One thing my wife and I have been trying to be proactive and more intentional about is how much time the boys spend on their tablets. We’ve practically cut them back to one hour a day. I’ll be honest; it’s not quite that easy. When I think about my screen time, I see the same addiction. One thing I’m going to try (I stress try because life has a way of interrupting things) is to get the kids outdoors this year—fishing, hiking, and maybe even camping. 

It’s tough for me to slow down. But after spending a year battling anxiety, I’ve learned that stress can affect me in more negative ways than I once expected. 

Yesterday we hit the trail near Lake Arcadia in Edmond, Oklahoma. It’s not a long trail, maybe about a mile, but it cuts through the woods and along some rocky ledges. We thought we were in trouble the entire hike. There was a barricade up and a sign that said CLOSED. But we proceeded anyway. 

What can I say? I’m raising rebellious kids. In all fairness, a worker was standing next to the truck who waved his hand as if it was okay. But I don’t think he spoke English and probably didn’t know what I asked. And if he did, I probably misunderstood. So maybe we are a little rebellious. 

I don’t make whole New Year’s resolutions or goals, but if I did, this is one of them. Get outside and off the screens more. Go on a hike through the woods.

What about you? Are you making plans to get outside more and off the screens?

https://www.alltrails.com