Over a cup of coffee

On Sunday afternoons, while waiting for my friends attending the 5 pm mass, I would sit at a coffee shop in Greenbelt and watch people. I would sit there contemplating the expressions on their faces, their fashion sense, their body language, the way they walk. People pass me by in all shapes and sizes, from dull to colorful...some with sure, quiet strides, some with aimless saunter, some with anticipation, a couple in a hurry, teenagers bickering. A young man with sad eyes made me ask myself if we all harbor great sadness in our souls, an old man at peace with life, a woman walking lost in her thoughts, maybe in order to find herself again. Another seems to wander, looking for something...maybe a smile or a wave; some stroll without a care in the world. I'm sitting there with my coffee, thinking of a place where love had hidden itself away.

Sometimes, in the silence of my heart, I would wish for someone to invite him/herself at my table for a conversation. A stranger, looking for someone to talk to, would decide to rest at my table. Hot coffee and good conversation...what a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But that would never happen. Because people don't talk anymore, they don't sit down to talk and listen. They go to the movies, watch TV, listen to the radio, read books, but they almost never talk. If we want to change the world, we have to go back to a time when warriors gather around the fire and tell stories.

coffee with Sienna and friends, Starbucks-Eastwood

All the really important things in my life had risen out of long conversations---with my sister, with my aunts and cousins, with my closest friends. I miss the brilliance of face to face conversations where souls are unveiled, where you can gaze at each other's eyes, connected by energy, express each other's thoughts and perspectives on the human condition. Or convey a comforting touch from a friend to another. "A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month's study of books", somebody quoted that to me. When I have a real conversation with somebody, it's a marvel of sustained revelation.

Some Sunday when you're free...let's talk over a cup of coffee.

cafe in London