'I'll have sugar, skim milk, a large cup and extra hot'

You’d think I’d have better things to do on a Sunday than read an article about baristas setting boundaries as to what coffee they will serve and jacking up about pandering to people’s request for certain coffees which would mean that the quality of the coffee served would be affected.  Included in this are orders for sugar, skim milk, a large cup and extra hot.  One woman who objected to this stand was quoted as saying “As someone who likes a sugar stirred into my coffee, I don’t want to have to take the lid off and put in the sugar as I’m running out the door”.

But I did keep reading because I was quite fascinated by what warrants a big article on page 3.

I’ve just returned from places where 43% of the people are unemployed because their factories have been bombed into extinction, where bullet holes and mortar damage scar their homes, and who still have no-go zones because of landmines.  Travel offers new and different perspectives and while I enjoyed visiting many amazing places, my trip to the Balkans certainly gave me a fresh view on how privileged my life is and what good fortune I enjoy in so many ways.  It makes me wonder just how precious we have become when we sulk at the thought of stirring sugar into a drink or get upset because we can’t get a double shot 3/4 latte hard? (Don’t ask me what that means).

I suggest instead it is time to get real and focus with gratitude on what we do have (which is so much) and it’s time to have some discernment about what to focus our attention on – or perhaps even have some discernment over what to get stressed about!