Le Weekly #14 – Coffee Coffee ☕️

One quote, one word, one story, one neigh from Philosophical Horse and one question.

Greetings everyone. Happy Monday!

Take a moment to reflect on each snippet. Comment your thoughts below.

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Le Quote 🗣

“No matter the obstacle, Tau rises above with a smile.” – Tau.

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Le Word 💬

rise (verb). move from a lower position to a higher one.

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Le Shoutout 🧣

Last week, I chatted with my mom about who I admire. I sat on the topic for a while; admiration is a strong term, so I’d like to use it as appropriately and respectfully as possible.

While on a run the other day, I decided to pop past Arise & Grind (the coffee van in the park) for a mid-run coffee. Tau was ready and waiting at the van. Tau is the type of person who asks you how you are with the actual intention of knowing how you are.

“How are you, Mike?” he asked.

Knowing he wanted to know how I was, I answered honestly. In that moment, I was feeling good. Good is a boring word, but I was feeling it.

“Tau, I’m good, thank you. How are you?” I asked.

“Tau is good. Tau is strong,” he replied.

Jeepers. I liked his answer so much that all I could do was repeat it back to him.

“Tau is good. Tau is strong,” I said.

“Yes, always,” he continued. “No matter the obstacle, Tau rises above with a smile.”

He turned around and started making my coffee. I watched him, fully aware that his toils in life are definitely more toilsome than mine; however, despite this, I have only ever seen him exuding positivity. He turned back around, handed me my coffee and waited for me to speak.

I looked at him.

“Tau, I admire that. Thank you.”

“See you tomorrow, Mike,” he said, smiling.

“See you tomorrow, Tau,” I said, smiling.

I inhaled the coffee (a double espresso with a splash of cold milk so that I could neck it in one movement and continue with my run), stared into the distance for a few seconds, adopted the newfound Taulosophy on the spot, recognised my “obstacles” and chose to rise above them with a smile.

Shoutau Tau.

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Le Story ✍️

It was 11h45 on a Wednesday. I shouldn’t have ordered a coffee at such a late hour, but Walter asked so nicely.

“Good sir, do you want another coffee?”

“Oeuf. Yes.”

“What do you want?”

“Double espresso, please sir, thank you Walter.”

Bear in mind, I am actively trying to reduce my coffee consumption to reduce the general cortisol levels in my body. If you’re stressed in life, I highly recommend cutting coffee for 1-2 weeks, or even forever. I’ve never felt a sabbatical elevate my “general levels of general feeling” quite like cutting caffeine.

I digress.

A few moments later, Walter returned with a double cortado. Not my order, but I would never let Walter know, so I EXPLODED into celebration instead.

“POWERFUL!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, clapping my hands!

“Enjoy, good sir,” Walter said casually.

The man sitting at the table behind me chirped over my shoulder: “Was that celebration before or after you’d consumed the double espresso?”

“Before,” I chuckled, moving my body to the left so that he could see that I didn’t, in fact, have a double espresso. “The shout of excitement was to overshadow any trace of sadness I may have expressed on my face as a result of receiving the wrong order,” I explained.

Rowan, the man, chuckled.

We both sat there, chuckling at the unexpectedly joyous situation happening at our daily coffee spot. The celebration, the shouting, the clapping, the interaction, and all the other energy in existence resulted from Walter confidently bringing me the wrong order.

Thanks to the unplanned sequence of events, I was more excited to drink the double cortado, the wrong order, than I was to drink a double espresso I’d ordered moments before.

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Le Neigh from Philosophical Horse 🐴

“Neigh” – Philosophical Horse.

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Le Question 🤔

What qualities do you admire in other people? Do you feel like you’re actively and intentionally developing those qualities within yourself?

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Have a great Monday, everyone!

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Previous Newsletters:

(Remember to send this to someone who you think would enjoy Le Weekly)

#13 – Leopard Picture 🐆
#12 – Clare’s Exhalations 🌸
#11 – Boiled Potatoes 🥔
#10 – Back Shampoo 🧼
#09 – Muscular Swallows 🐦
#08 – Long Wood 🪵
#07 – Impactful Leaf 🍃
#06 – Vulnerable Ankles 🦵
#05 – Sea Sea TV 📸
#04 – Treadmill Queue 💦
#03 – Lemonade 🍋
#02 – Meat Factory 🥩
#01 – Woolworths Maternitywear 👚

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