days off = writing!

I went to Starbucks today. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I am the stereotypical Starbucks customer, too. I order a “Grande Chai Latte, with whip” and come with my laptop, Apple earbuds, and a pile of books and park my little butt at one of the small tables for a couple hours.

Today I came with the specific intent of reading and writing. I have a lot of writing to do for a project I’m working on and it’s nice to have a day off to get it at least in rough draft form. (I still wish the workweek was only four days long…).

So I’m sitting at Starbucks reading and writing. There’s a man sitting beside the window. He’s drinking his second cup of coffee…but he’s sitting alone…he doesn’t have anything to read…he’s not on a cellphone…he’s just sitting there. Occasionally, he taps his fingers to the beat of the music that’s playing. I’m sure this type of behavior shouldn’t be as bizarre as it seems. Why can’t we just sit and enjoy a couple cups of coffee by ourselves? Do we give ourselves enough time to reflect and think? I know I don’t. It makes me uncomfortable to sit and think for anything more than a few minutes. I might be able to sit for 20 minutes, but nothing more than that.

I’ve been reading a book on Generation Me. It’s a phenomenally well-written portrait of the millennial generation (1979-200?). We are constantly bombarded with technology, with music, with images, with things to do, with things to learn, with things we’re supposed to be…there’s no peace and quiet. We’re overwhelmed with the idea of ourselves (self-involved, self-indulgent). In many ways we’ve forgotten our connection with others. More than that, we need something to do or something to entertain us all the time that we forgot that quiet times of reflection are meaningful and often important to surviving. I guess my question is, do we like what we’ve become?

Perhaps some silly thoughts, but that’s what struck me today.