This bag of coffee was a Christmas gift (thanks Tiffany!). It came with a story.

The Tale of the Sleepy Monks, is a folklore story proposing that coffee was discovered by a monk on his way to morning prayer.

In the early morning this sleepy monk encountered a goat herder, and his goats, dancing with glee around a dark-leaved shrub covered with red berries. Taking some berries he experimented with them and finally roasted them (to the colour of his tunic) and then boiled them.

Soon the Monk, and his brothers, stayed awake at prayers and the use of coffee spread from monastery to monastery around the world.

So the story goes!

At some point in my day I make a coffee. When I do it is a signal to pause.

Now I stop what I am doing to be present to this moment, to taste and drink and catch up with the whole of myself. It is spiritual practice.

And you? What do you do each day that helps you stay awake to this moment?