Re-Fresh-Ment

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.” ~Ashleigh Brilliant, English author and cartoonist (b. 1933)

We had scored two coffees in a place where coffee was definitely not the drink of choice. They even had a “bold pick of the day.”

Initially, the cold, icy drizzle had driven us inside to warm up. But the fragrant aroma of freshly brewed coffee had beckoned us like a siren’s song until we succumbed to buying two medium size cups. The counter person placed the cups in front of us as I handed her the requisite payment. “Do you have lids?” I asked, as she handed me the change. “If you turn right ‘round they are just there by the milk and sugar.” “Americans always ask for them,” she added with a smile. The reference was lost on me.

We snapped the lids down on the cups, turned up our collars and headed for the door, waving goodbye as we shouldered it open. The counter person waived back, but there was an expression on her face which I couldn’t quite read...amusement perhaps?

We headed down High Holburn toward Charterhouse Street. We were meeting a friend at St. Etheldreda’s Church (the oldest functioning Catholic Parish in the city). It was brisk and damp, the kind of weather which seeps into your bones, but the excitement of being in London drove out any discomfort we might have experienced. The coffee warmed us as we sipped away while we walked.

We had gone out of our way to avoid looking like Americans: no bright, white athletic shoes, no logo wear and no fanny pack (or bum bag as the English call them). The colors we wore were subdued and we were dressed a bit nicer than the usual tourist. Still, we seemed to catch people staring at us. One old gentleman greeted us with; “Pardon me Yank,” as he squeezed passed me.

We finished our coffees and began looking for a public trash can. There was none to be found. Undaunted , we finally ditched our cups in a public restroom. We reached Ely Place and turned toward St. Etheldreda’s where we found our friend waiting out in front. After a litany of greetings we shared our good fortune at finding an American coffee purveyor right in the heart of London.

“God, you didn’t take your cups out into the street, did you?” she asked dramatically. “That is soooo American.”

Traveling in a foreign country is often a good way to learn more about oneself. That which is common behavior in one country might be looked upon as amusing or even inappropriate in another. We Americans pride ourselves upon being great multi-taskers, particularly when it comes to food and drink. It is habitual for many of us to eat at our work stations and take our liquid refreshment (particularly coffee) whenever we can and wherever we go…even while we drive. A quick trip down any auto accessory aisle will reveal all manner of travel cups, cup holders and even refrigerators for your vehicle.

Unfortunately “multi-tasking” could very well be a euphemism for “being inattentive to more than one thing at a time” and perhaps for “being inconsiderate to more than one person at a time.” During our recent trip to London we learned the joy of “tea time.” What we discovered was the term “Refreshment” is not simply an object but an experience. “Refreshment” applies to not only the beverage, but the time taken to enjoy it.

Being a good steward of time is not simply a matter of the quantity of activity packed into a particular time frame, but the quality of the time spent. We need to find restorative time in our lives... daily periods when we take the time to restore our spirit, mind and body (and our relationships). Rather than gulping the latest energy drink at our desk in the afternoon, perhaps we would be better served to sit down with someone over a cup of tea and a scone just to decompress and clear our heads. We refresh our computers. Perhaps we should take time each day to refresh our lives as well.

Dear God, remind me to take time for refreshment.

Two woodcutters challenged one another to see who could chop the most wood in an eight hour day. The first diligently swung his ax over and over again, never once stopping during the entire eight hour period. At the end of the day, when their respective piles of chopped wood were compared, it was discovered that the second woodsman’s pile was much larger than that of the first. “You cheated!” the first man blurted out. “I watched you! Every hour or so you stopped to rest; I cut wood all day long. How could you have possibly cut more wood than I did?” The second woodsman smiled knowingly. “Yes, it is true I stopped every hour and a half to rest, but while I rested I was sharpening my ax.”

© 2011 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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