How do you wait for your Starbucks?

As you wait for your Starbucks Irish Cold Brew, what are you doing while you are waiting

In a season of anticipation and waiting, I felt like this story was relevant to be shared. Some of you may have heard this before but to others this is brand new:

The holiday season is a time of anticipation and “leading up to” where we often put so much emphasis on the day of that we rush through the moments where we wait for that day to arrive.

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For  those of you who still order Starbucks the old fashion way this will resonate with you-  What’s old fashion you ask? Going in and ordering from the counter and waiting for your drink to be made.

I feel like there are few and far between thanks to the convenience  of the mobile ordering where you can order and come as you like and arrive to a coffee that’s ready.

So I ask those who still go in and order. What do you do when you’re waiting for that drink? What do you do from the time you pay to the time you pick up that cup and take the first sip? Are you scrolling aimlessly on Instagram? Thinking about how your boss frustrates you but you haven’t even seen them yet? Slapping yourself still trying to wake up?

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Are you sending that text to your mom with the simple words “I love you” to start the day? Thinking about the great dinner you get to share with your family that night? The interaction you’ll have with your students today? The design you’ll get to design that will be seen and have the potential to touch hundreds of people? Or even let me ask you this - are you praying?

We have the choice to determine how we use times of waiting. As I was sitting in Starbucks the other day I saw a father and daughter come in together. Dad ordered a Grande Pike Roast and the daughter ordered a breakfast sandwich and hot chocolate and then they waited…

You want to know what they did when they waited?

They simply danced!

They broke out in dance and the dad was twirling his daughter to the sounds of Frank Sinatra.

There was nothing but joy. Something so simple yet so powerful. We complain about waiting. We are uncomfortable.

But there’s the opportunity to be joyful in the waiting. To dance. To use it to simply slow down. To relax.

There is a tendency to live in expectation of some big future joy and sit in despair of current events.

What do you feel like you’re just trying to get through today so you can get to a greater joy tomorrow or 3 weeks from now?

By doing so - what are you not doing today when waiting? What little joy are you missing out on?

I am starting to see that there are moments throughout the day to practically practice remaining joyful like waiting for the cup at Starbucks. You can be joyful now and joyful tomorrow. There’s plenty of joy to go around.

Use these times throughout the day in ways that will fill you up and fill others around you up too. Like that father and daughter, dance in the waiting.

And as you’re reading this you may have just ordered your morning coffee and asking yourself - “what can I be doing right now?”

If you have no where to start, enjoy these aesthetically pleasing photos of coffee taken by my girlfriend and ask yourself - what is one small thing that I can do today that will bring joy?

Happy Monday! Enjoy your small moments of waiting this week in unexpected and different ways!