Thank You For Inspiring Me Over Coffee
“In response to Coffee Challenge: Summary Article”
Today is the last day of submitting my top five picks for the Coffee Challenge, Summary Article. Trust me, I am confused. I have read almost 50 entries for the challenge (will read the remaining ones too) and I am confused like a child who is offered ice cream, chocolate, and cake altogether and asked to pick only one. The child cries, “Not fair”. But such is life and rules are rules.
Having said that, what must be done, must be done. Therefore, I am highlighting 5 stories my heart connected with. If you do not find your story here, rest assured, it is safe in my heart ❤️
As witty Winston said, which has now become a popular catchphrase, “Taking part in this challenge will change you”. Everyone, please give me a drum roll when I say this, “YES, taking part in this challenge has changed every one of us for good, for the better, probably for the best
- My first pick is Lucia Landini’s story, There’s One Thing I Would Like To Do in 2022, At Least Two Thousand Times.
She wants to hug as many people as she can in 2022. I wish she was my neighbor. We all need some personal touch. By divine design, the largest sense organ of our body is the Skin, meant to feel touch. Imagine God’s creation, He knows what humans need the most, a personal touch.
She says,
Next year I want to hug as many people as possible: family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. People I meet for the first time. Children and elderly people.
Hugs heal feelings of anger and loneliness. Hugging is a shared experience: you’re both giving and receiving affection. Hugging shows us that we’re loved and that we deserve love.
When you hug or touch a person, your body releases Oxytocin. It is a chemical that scientists call the “cuddle hormone” which is associated with happiness and stress reduction. This hormone can help relax and lower anxiety.
Lucia Landini, you have already hugged and touched me via your article. Thank you!
2. My next pick is Rebecca Rine’s story, Parent My Kids the Way I Want to, Not How My Parents Think I Should.
I connected to this article instantly as I felt I am the protagonist in her story. Being a mom of a preteen, I sometimes lose my mind, yell at her, and then deep dive into a sea of guilt.
I do not want to have a relationship of fear with my child. for I know once the fear will vanish, the relationship too will. And, I can’t afford that, no parent can.
Where there is love there is no fear and vice-versa. I related to her article deeply as a fellow mom who thinks it is OK to be vulnerable, imperfect and does not prefer to be a dictator with no emotions.
She says,
They get it. They see me being imperfect and vulnerable enough to ask for forgiveness without excusing my behavior. They see a side of me I want them to see: an adult who doesn’t have all the answers but wants to do better.
I want to see my kids’ hearts. I want to hear their laughter. I want them to misbehave to show me they trust me enough to be themselves around me.
3. My 3rd pick is Suma Narayan’s Stay Close: Don’t Go Yet
Her resolution for this year has its root in 2018 December. She wowed to this resolution in 2019, stuck to it through the nasty pandemic, and is damn resolute to stick to it this year too.
I admire her fortitude.
I connected to her story deeply as it oozes oodles of love and gratitude. She is grateful for everything in her life and lets go of any unnecessary baggage. She is living her resolution day in and day out, living in the moment.
It was the last week of December when my husband started smiling again. It felt like the Sun had risen again.
She is doing her best to keep the smile on her husband since then by simply taking a day at a time, living it fully with gratitude, and letting it go.
My New Year Resolution is to stay grounded, stay grateful. I thank God for everything and everyone I have in my life, and take each day as it comes, trying to find that one bright spot in my day which makes life worth while, and letting go everything else which is either insignificant, or petty.
Suma Narayan, dear, you are meditating every moment with your soul. Keep up the smiles.
4. My next pick has to be Lisa Gerard Braun’s story, Just a Heart Beat and a Final Breath Away from the Mark I Leave on Earth.
I deeply connected with her simple, yet subtle statement,
I am going to die. Maybe not today; maybe not tomorrow. The only certainty is that it will happen. Today, and every day I can, I choose life and I choose to live it well.
Imagine, when one lives like this, how well they live and die just once. She narrated her struggles and I had tears in my eyes reading. And the next moment she inspired me to live better. My heart was filled with admiration for her when she faced the challenge head-on and decided to live well, every day.
The only way I could fathom being better was to strive for better. It was up to me, and me alone.
That process started by looking deep within and my soul became loved again, cultivated, and nourished daily.
5. The next pick is by my kindred soul E.S. Yates. Kindred because she resolves to be Free From Fear in 2022. Same as myself. E.S. Yates, you got this girl! You will conquer fear.
Speaking for oneself and setting boundaries is one thing, I am personally working on this year. I found a common ground when she said,
It’s time to speak up and speak out for myself and for those around me. No more the silence of a fearful mind!
Setting boundaries and sending a clear message that any trespassers will not be tolerated is a bold and beautiful thing to be done for oneself and everyone else.
In her words,
There will be people who will no longer want to associate with me, who may find me rude, annoying, unbearable, or worse. And that will be ok. If those people cut themselves out of my life, it will be for the best.
All the 55 entries for this coffee challenge could be relished with a cup of coffee here. Every story is wonderfully inspiring.
Winston and Coffee-Times team, you have inspired everyone to create a map and follow it passionately for bettering ourselves in 2022. I am sure the ripples will be spread and felt far and wide.
I sincerely thank you and the wonderful team at Coffee-Times.
There is one more publication and a wonderful editor who inspires me daily with her doses of love and positivity. A drum roll and huge thanks to Trista Signe Ainsworth. In such a short time she has built a village where there is the harmony of hearts and symphony of souls.
Thank you Trista Signe Ainsworth for Thank You Notes.
Thank you everyone for reading.
© All Rights Reserved 2022 Indubala Kachhawa
