No matter how old or young, people dream. They aspire to something. Many of us want to save the world in our own little way. Granted, some are just out there for the deal, the take, so they can get as much as they can. However, most of them only find getting it all is never enough. Others get caught up in corporate missions, promotions, and benefits, but in the competitiveness of their rigorous routine, they quickly lose perspective of their own personal longings. The economic downturn like all tragedies has an upside. In the gloom of dark days the light in the heart slowly turns back on showing us what we have forgotten and what really matters.
It's the simple things. Over a year ago, in the May 18, 2008 issue of The New York Times there was an article about the huge trend sweeping across the nation, entitled "Voluntary simplicity movement re-emerges". The unemployed are not only getting rid of their "stuff" they are also "dumbing down" their resumes as the June 26, 2009 issue of The Week notes. And perhaps getting more fulfillng jobs as described in The Week's "Last Word" section, entitled "The philosopher with a wrench". A must-read excerpt of "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford, who describes the wisdom he's found being a motorcycle mechanic, even though he has a Ph.D. in political philosophy and held "the bomb" job as executive director of a policy organization in Washington. A la Persig's, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Crawford expands beyond the idea of a quality of work ethic into more of how you can experience the world 'on the head of the pin' through learning a "simple" trade.
The duly employed are having their own epiphanies. A New York marketing director for a fashion designer said, "I'm contemplating moving. I went home to North Carolina to see my family a while back, and stayed up all night playing Scrabble® with my sister. It dawned on me, I don't ever get to do that." He continued saying that his life is basically going to work, going to dinner, going to bed, and doing it all again the next day. There's no "family time". A CEO of a large logistics transportation company said he always had to travel so much he was never able to find a sense of "community" until he happened upon a local coffee shop.
What fills us isn't the car, the house, the clothes, the shoes, the jewelry and the trips. It's our tribe, whether that's a blood-related family or a community. Within that microcosm is a safe place where people unite with people. Listening. Understanding. Finding solutions. Or making the problems more palatable. Coffee shop baristas can teach us all a lot about community. Recently, two of Atlanta's top baristas have chosen to continue running a coffee shop on their own until a new buyer comes along -- after their boss decided to "check out" of the business. The community who they served day in and day out didn't lash out, because they didn't have pastries any more or hot water some days. Instead, one patron tipped them $10.00 and left empty handed - he didn't even get his coffee. These patrons know the baristas personally, in turn the baristas have taken the time to get to know their patrons beyond whether they want a cappuccino or a shot in the dark. So, there is an understanding. The patrons are more patient - more forgiving - even waiting outside for hours until the guys show up to open the doors, knowing the guys have had to work two shifts straight everyday for weeks. Of course, these baristas also happen to serve an incredible cup of coffee, so patrons know it's worth the wait. In the meantime, they are all getting to know each another a lot better and something pretty incredible is happening.
(To be continued...)
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