Opus 2015-419: A Has Bean

Did you ever ask yourself what it would be like to be a coffee bean?

Think of the journey.  You start as the twinkle in the pistil of a plant in some third world country.  Who knows how old you are before you begin to yearn for freedom and opportunity that can only be had in the cup of an American blogger.  The yearning may develop slowly or it may pop full blown into your coffee bean heart. 

We will never know because a careless gringo dropped you on the floor.

You grew to maturity in the shade of a large tree and were carefully chosen by the fingers of a mountain peasant.  He decided you were ready for your journey.  He started you in motion by plucking you from the comfort of your branch.  But you knew you had a purpose.

You endured the processing, bagging and being tossed in the back of a truck.  You were nauseous on the ocean voyage but you knew it would be worth it.  The roasting simply made your goal one step closer.

Then came the day you slid down that chute in the bulk coffee dispenser and met your master for the first time.  At last.  You were in the hands of your consumer.  It was getting close.

Can you imagine the joy of beginning to be measured out on that special morning.  It was here.  You could see the coffee grinder, waiting with its lid off.  And then the unthinkable.  You missed your target and fell to the floor.  As you were screaming, “No!” you were picked up and dropped in the trash.  Instead of being the joyful part of a glorious morning you are suddenly landfill.

Today a coffee bean’s destiny was frustrated.

Think about your role in the destiny of others.  Remember that a coffee bean has feelings too.  It has dreams.  It has goals.  That same might be said for that noodle that your dropped and callously discarded.  Or what about that piece of radish that jumped from the chopping board to the ground.

Destiny is in your hands.  Cook with care.

homo unius libri