It is well known that one of the great benefits of coffee is to stimulate, many people take it to lift their spirits and awaken their body and mind to do a task better.
This effect is felt more strongly in the early hours of the morning. There are those who cannot imagine starting their day without drinking a cup of coffee to prepare them for a long day of activities.
However, coffee can also have the opposite effect, it can help us relax to calm our mood.
I have always had trouble controlling my thoughts. Suddenly I am very calm and without realizing it, all kinds of ideas start coming into my head. What starts as a trickle quickly turns into an avalanche, as if some faucet opened inside me and let out everything I have in my mind.
If I am careless with that, there comes a moment when thoughts take over my mood, lead me to imagine situations that can be very unpleasant and catastrophic, and manage to create a state of great inner turmoil.
At times like these, coffee can be a great ally to put a stop to these unbridled thoughts.
A few days ago I had such an episode. I was sitting on my porch listening to the sound of the cicadas, which at this time of the year indicate that the rainy season is near. The sound of the cicadas has a certain hypnotic effect, it envelops you and draws you into it.
Suddenly I began to think about the devaluation of our currency, a situation that in our country has become chronic, recurrent, it is a horror movie that repeats and repeats, over and over again, with no solution. We had a few months in which the devaluation had been under control, but in the last week it began to take off and threatens to become very serious.
Without realizing it, the sound of the cicadas was dissolving, disappearing from my ears. In its place began to appear images of what I have experienced other times. I imagined myself with a pencil and paper trying to estimate what the prices would be when I went to the pharmacy or the supermarket. I imagined myself trying to negotiate with the merchants or with the people who provide me with services at what rate I would have to pay them.
Because one of the consequences of the devaluation is that prices have no reference. Today's price is not the same as tomorrow's price. Everyone sets the price they want and charges in bolivars at the rate that best suits them.
After a few minutes of thinking about those things, I was already feeling pretty bad. So I did what has worked for me so many times.
I got up from my seat very slowly, took three deep breaths and went from the porch to the kitchen. I reached for my smallest Italian coffee pot, the one that only gives me two small cups of coffee, put in the water and a half measure more coffee than I usually use. I wanted that coffee strong.
I turned on my stove slowly, mounted the coffee pot and concentrated on watching the blue and orange hues of the flame. After a while the sound of the liquid about to boil indicated to me that it was time to turn off the burner.
I poured my cup of coffee, without sugar, and returned to the porch. I took the cup in both hands, felt the heat deep into my skin, looked at the dark liquid and took a small sip, totally focused on that bitter taste that filled my whole mouth.
Two or three sips were enough to bring back to my ears the singing of the cicadas, I surrendered again to the pleasant hypnotic sensation that can have that sound of nature, my mood was completely calm and quiet.
The next day, when I went to pay at the supermarket, I would see the ugly face of devaluation again.
Thank you for your time.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version).
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