At the time of writing, it is winter, an early afternoon that is cold and grey. The warmth of a coffee shop beckons, and it’s the perfect time and place for contemplation.
The Odd Olive Eatery is relatively new in Ryton, but with multiple fantastic reviews from family members, I knew I just had to go. It’s just before Christmas, that time of winding down from work and gearing up for the festivities. The tree inside is twinkling with lights, and a mix of soft tunes and Christmas staples plays overhead.
The Odd Olive’s menu features a mix of all-day breakfast and lunch options. I’m more of a breakfast food person in cafes, and I go between the options of their pancakes and their avocado and poached eggs on sourdough. In the end, I go savoury over sweet for once. The freshness of the avocado paired with a hit of chili and chorizo is just what I needed for a winter’s day. Although I will be back to try out the pancakes (and probably the rest of their menu too).
To satisfy the previous sweet craving, I head to the cake counter and, after a few moments of indecision, settle on a raspberry brownie. It is the perfect combination of gooey chocolate and a tangy hint of raspberry. And with a latte and a full stomach, I sit back and lose myself in coffee and contemplation.
It is a slow and breezy kind of day. The group of women at the tables by the window laugh, the couple two tables over debate over sharing their entire meal (food, pot of tea, and all). The teenager on the other side of the room scrolls on her phone between bites of cake. And the table opposite mine trades bites of sandwich between newspaper articles. Each person carries a story you’ll never fully know, yet all of them share this moment with you.
It is nearing the end of the year, and I can’t help but reflect on what’s been and what is yet to come.
But let me tell you a story, you don’t need to become a new person with the new year. You are your choices. You are a patchwork quilt of experiences and memories, and those can shift and change at any moment, not just because the calendar has flipped over.
I recently read an article that explains a theory on why life seems to go by so much quicker when you are older. It is proposed that as you get older, you have fewer new experiences – when you’re small, you’re learning how to walk, a new day at school, a new skill or thing, and it takes up so much of your life because you haven’t lived that long yet. But when you’re older, you fall into the monotony of it all, and experiences become innate instead of new. We cycle between home and work, we build routines and stick to them, and new experiences tend to fall into the background.
And in my opinion, those experiences don’t need to be big at all to stick. I find that those small, glorious moments have a greater impact than what you initially expect. It’s like a tiny, brief interaction with a stranger in a coffee shop that reminds you that you are surrounded by community and togetherness, and not quite as alone as one may think.
Although I don’t like resolutions and the pressure to reach them by the end of the year, I want to break the monotony of life and find the quiet joy again. I think life is shaped partially by what you pursue and experience, but also by what you tolerate. And I don’t want to tolerate monotony.
So, I’m hunting out those quiet moments more this year, I’m collecting them, appreciating them, and figuring out new steps along the way. I’m broadening my horizons to new experiences, new choices, and letting them pave the way. We’ll see what it cultivates!
And as if knowing I’ve been in a contemplative mood, looking towards futures and possibilities, I later received this message in a fortune cookie on Christmas Eve: Your potential is only limited by your desires. And although that’s a little cheesy, it’s still, nevertheless true.