Let’s Percolate

The word percolate reminds me of Mom’s oh-so-strong coffee. The longer it percolated, the more robust and flavorful it became. At just the perfect moment, she would take it off the heat and serve it with love to friends and family. Nobody made coffee like Mom.

Then came the land of instant coffee, drive throughs and k-cups. In a culture of instant gratification we sometimes think transformational
change should happen overnight as well.

I recently retired and moved from a lifetime in the city to a quiet farm in New Hampshire. I’m big on my morning coffee. While people move at a frantic pace in the busy-ness of their daily grind around me, I see nature - life - as a constant stream of growth, death, and rebirth. An ever present reminder that we need time to percolate.

The Rhythms of Life
It takes time for the flavors of life to ripen. It takes patience to see the fruit of your labors. Fruit picked too soon is bitter and sometimes even toxic. Left too long and it can die on the vine or be ravaged by savages.

Nobody is meant to percolate (sometimes ruminate?) forever either. Left in the heat too long, we become bitter and off the heat too long, we become cold and stale.

So where is the sweet spot? It’s all in the timing. Not the strategy, not the science, not the belief. The timing. Wait. Listen. You’ll know when you’re ready Life’s got this.
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