Home is a Mug of Coffee: Part 3
On the gifts of stillness.
Hello there!
Since last week, I’m delighted that there are a number of new faces around here — so I firstly wanted to begin by saying welcome. If you’re looking for more illustrated storytelling in your inbox, know you’re in the right place 🙌
And if you are just joining us, this week’s post is the final part of an illustrated essay series called “Home is a Mug of Coffee” (here are parts one and two). It’s a story about coming home to ourselves, told through the different kinds of coffee I discovered around the world.
Today, we head from the south of India to an island in western Canada, so settle in with your favorite hot drink as we near the end of this journey.
With love,
Candace
I turned 40 last November. The halfway mark of me. I’ve learned a lot in those years. I’ve learned to function with depression. I’ve learned how to work hard. How to build a life. To watch it fall apart. To start building it back again and again. I've learned what I can live without. I've learned to be resilient. That I can survive most things. I've learned how to cope with the hard things my own head throws at me. I've learned how to make it through the day, but I haven't yet learned to love it. I haven't yet learned to be here. Sometimes 'here' is the most difficult place to be. It's where the hurt lives. Where the struggle presses in. But, there are glimpses of something better, in books, in art, in music, in creativity, in coffee. Maybe it's not the same thing as loving everyday or being fully 'here', but some days it's enough to start with...
Marvellous piece. I am thinking about my own life right now. It seems to have been swamped by struggles, disappointments, nasty surprises, frustrations, and grief, of late. But underlying all of that, I have maintained a little ember of love for who I am, despite all of this chaos. I surprise myself that the little island inside my heart stays calm, like you in your chair by the fire. I am in love with myself, and these trials keep proving that my love is strong. It’s important to recognize and accept that, ultimately, we need to be here for ourselves. I toast you with my mug of coffee--three sugars, just the way I love it.