Against Coffee

Most of us drink coffee.
Most of us say it’s the one blessed benign addiction that’s actually useful.
We love the effects on the body and our energy.
And we enthusiastically and eagerly say YES!
Give me some of that brown brain-juice!

Coffee is awesome.
The smell is heavenly.
The taste makes you feel like a sommelier.
The ritual of making it is one of the few rituals you have left.
Your Starbucks order is basically your peak self expression!
You’re a parent, a worker, a student, an athlete,
it’s a no-brainer: coffee is heaven sent.

Or is it?

Here’s an uncommon alternative perspective.
Let’s back up and unpack the advantages of coffee drinking
and think one level deeper
about what it says about us
and our culture.

First, coffee increases productivity.
And we worship it beyond anything.
We work hard, play hard. Why?

Why do we value productivity so much?
Isn’t too much of a good thing often a bad thing,
why do we think productivity is an exception?

But let’s go even deeper than that,
since when did we all agree
that being productive
is why we are here on this earth?
Is it?
Or are we missing out on something else?

How about things that are not about output?
Like presence.
Connection.
Belonging.
Embodiment.
Oh you’re missing those...

Second, what do we actually tell our body and nervous system
when we apply a stimulant?

Here’s what it is. We say:
“You are not good enough.
Not fast enough,
not productive enough.
You suck.
You should be more!”

Ritualized inadequacy.
You think that helps you feel less depressed?

Third, the taste, the smell, the ritual!
You know what else tastes and smells amazing?
Cigarettes.
When you’re addicted to them.

You don’t believe me.
Let’s do a little experiment.
Go cold turkey on coffee for a month
and see if it still tastes good.

Fourth, your body does not just have a gas pedal and a break pedal.
You don’t just have two modes:
productive and exhausted.
There’s a rich internal landscape
of emotions and moods,
experiencing which is called life.

Caffeine numbs your attunement to yourself.
And then you complain about
a lack of purpose and meaning.

Fifth, wait, but if I slow down, I’ll feel sad.
Yeah, baby.
You’re constipated with pain.
You don’t need stress in a cup to forget it.
You need a different diuretic.
It’s called grief.

Sixth, people don’t just have one addiction.
If you’re drinking coffee,
chances are you got other issues.

Finally, I’m not here to judge
Or preach about the virtue of quitting.
Just take a moment to observe
What you’re experiencing and why.