From Rest-LESS to RESTED
Dear Friends,
I have not had a cup of caffeinated coffee in 6 weeks. It’s been quite a ride. I cannot remember a coffee-free day since the early 00’s when I chose to give it up for health reasons.
I didn’t become a better person. I became a grouch.
This time I’ve relinquished coffee for the betterment of my soul. After decades of consumption, I lost the sense of who I am without it. I wake up daily longing for something that intuitively diminishes me.
This time, I opted not to go cold turkey. The gradual decent toward caffeine freedom was harder. It took three weeks to ween myself off by cutting the coffee with Reishi Roast. I could have progressed more quickly, but I didn’t want to cause additional harm. Drinking wet mushrooms was punishment enough.
I was fully prepared to feel crappy but the headaches turned out to be the easiest part of the experience. The hard part was emotional turbulence. Coffee had a way of tamping down the body while ramping up the mind. Without it, I was feeling a whole lot of a whole lot.
Coffee has been my enduring and only crutch through times good and bad. For all of its social and cognitive pleasures it has lead to emotional and physical depletion. I have based important life decisions on a false sense of my capacity. And I have avoided processing strong experiences while continuing to go go go.
I am just now starting to equilibrate and it makes me want to keep diving. I am ready to know who I am without chocolate, without optimization, without texting, without screen time. It astounds me that I don’t.
Who I am without caffeine is sharper and more boisterous—dare I say, a little happier. When I have had decaf, it feels like a magnificent treat. I have been enjoying the long days differently, expending much more energy during daylight and turning in close to dark. The mushrooms have had their benefits, too. Best allergy season ever.
Next stop, screen reduction!!!
With folded palms,