Aromatic Gasses

Recently, a friend let me borrow his coffee grinder. This opened my world to this beautiful thing known quite simply as the coffee bean. Right now, I have single of of these dark brown nuggets resting on my laptop. My olfactory is basking in the aroma emanating from this single bean.

Over the last several years, I have become quite fond of Starbucks. Before that time, I would have choked at even the thought of spend severaling dollars on a cup of coffee. However, it is so much more than the coffee. It is about the experience:

That famous green circle is visible in the distance. The thought of a warm caffè mocha forces the car to turn off the highway and find a place in the parking lot. Upon entering the store, an employee offers a friendly “hello” and the appealing smells of specialty coffee and baked goods permeate the olfactory system. Peering up at the menu board, a separate language – a coffee language – greets the eyes. Upon receiving a grande cup of mocha, corner chairs and table offer an inviting place to relax and chat with friends. The place offers the opportunity to relax for a few minutes and escape from the fast-paced world outside.

This interest in Starbucks led me to start reading a book, The Starbucks Experience. In this book, I came across an interesting little factoid about the freshness of a coffee: "What defines coffee as fresh is that it actively gives of 3 to 20 times it volume in aromatic gas."

Wow, first, a question: How the heck do you measure the volume of aromatic gas given off by coffee?

Regardless, with this information, it is no wonder that the aroma of coffee has this ability to permeate through an entire room and provide such an aura of peace and contentment.

I started wondering about us. Sure, some of us give off plenty of aromatic gasses. I, for one, probably give off more than my fair share. However, more seriously, do I provide an aura that permeates a room and fills it with peace and contentment? The little coffee bean is such powerful reminder that something small can have a much greater influence than one might expect - 3 to 20 times more in the case of the bean.

Here I Am/The Love Story

Recently, the church hosted a book group to discuss The Shack. I've mentioned this book before and don't really want to write too much more about the book itself because I highly recommend that you read it. If you want to borrow my copy, just let me know!

The book offers the reader the opportunity to glimpse into experiencing the relational (Triune?!) God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A God who loves, laughs, cries. A God who wants to know each of us in an intimate way. This God stands in stark contrast to the God envisioned in many circles - distant, inactive, judgmental.

This morning, Jenn and I went to Mass at St. Dominic's. We sang a song with this refrain:

Here I am, standing right beside you.
Here I am, do not be afraid.
Here I am, waiting like a lover.
I am here. Here I am.

The first time singing this refrain, I came to the part, "waiting like a lover," and kind of stumbled over these words.

God, a lover.

This is still something very difficult for me to grasp. However, I'm starting to understand this a little bit more as time passes. Understand this wonderful love story - of love so deep, so perfect, so beautiful. A story of love - unconditional love. A story free of condemnation. A story filled with joy. A story of sacrifice - the ultimate sacrifice. A story of life - new life.

The true love story.

Niche

Last evening, my eyes rested on one of my bookshelves that contains a lot of my school books from over the years. For some reason, I just started reading through some of the titles.

Of course, chemistry titles abound:

Solid State Chemistry
Computational Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Medicinal Chemistry
Biochemistry
Classics in Total Synthesis
Name Reactions
Contemporary Polymer Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Organic Synthesis

However, situated among these books are other titles:

Thermodynamics
Engineering Mechanics
Economics of Today
Organizational Behavior
Educational Psychology
Fundamentals of Business Law
Accounting
Financial Statement Analysis
History of Education in America
Jesus the Christ
Calculus
Modern Geometries
The Western Experience
Project Management Methodology
Candide
Abstract Algebra

Both lists have many other additional titles.

Yet, last night this left me a bit troubled. A conversation today did not help to ease this unease. Today, during the conversation, the idea of filling a niche came up discussion.

According to m-w.com, niche is

2 a: a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted

Despite trying out many different subjects, I've never really found my niche.

However, I've started to wonder if that could be my niche - knowing a little about a lot, having interests in different disciplines, willing to try out new things (biking and running last year, this year maybe something new). I don't know for sure but I'm starting to like it.

Expectation v Expectancy

Last week, I finished reading The Shack - after the last discussion group meeting, go figure. A chapter at the end of the book is entitled, Verbs and Other Freedoms. I really enjoyed reading this chapter. One point that really stuck out is the distinction between expectation and expectancy. These words really are different and have different connotations. For me, expecations connote negative sentiments. When I think of expectations, I think of rules, laws, performance, disappointments, and hurts. For example, today, on my way out of work, a comment was made that maybe I should not wear my holey sweater to a meeting tomorrow. (In case the person who said this happens upon this post, I'm just using this as an example. Don't read anything else into it! You are right.) For the meeting, there is minimum expectation of sorts for clothing. However, in my mind, I of course bristled a bit and immediately thought about rules and about just wanting to be able to wear my favorite sweater - that just happens to be full of holes after a lot of wearing and abuse. I started wondering about what the big deal is anyway. So contrast expectations with expectancy. For me, expectancy connotes an air of excitement. Christmas time is still a time of expectancy. On Christmas morning, honestly, I can't wait to open gifts. As the years go by, though, I also can't wait to see others open the gifts that I have given them. Expectancy is anticipation, thrill, excitement, opportunities, and even nervousness. Right now, I am most filled with expectancy when I head out for a bike ride or run. Who will be there to wave to or stop for a brief chat? When out with others, what will come up in conversation? Sunrises, the transition from darkness to light, the wind, the sun, budding trees, crazy dogs, and the list goes of all the things that add to the expectancy.

The book describes this as an "incredible dancing of being" moving with the wind - the Holy Spirit.

Sheep II

So before getting so sleepy last night that I couldn't type anymore, I mentioned sheep and reading John 10 on the john. From the message, "The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice."

The sheep recognize his voice.

We had sheep on the farm and they lived in the pasture adjacent to the house. The lambs used to have such a great time out there. Sometimes, there might be a mound of dirt out there and they would play king of the mountain. Other times they would race around the pasture. I remember Dad calling the sheep and they would come racing for food. He had this special way of calling the sheep. He also has this special way of calling the pigs. Grandma had a special way of calling the cats. In all three examples, the creatures recognized the voice... and responded.

I find it really difficult to recognize God's voice amidst all of the noise and clutter. Unfortunately, I find myself to often thinking about my dilemma or my problem or you get the point. This too makes it pretty difficult to recognize God's voice.

Today, for example, I was at the eye doctor waiting for almost an hour for the doctor to check out my eyes. Well, during this hour, I spent some quality time thinking about how I unbelievable it was to be waiting for an hour, about how much work I needed to get down, and, again, you probably get the idea. Well, that was an entire hour truly wasted. Yet, it could have been used for a much higher purpose. Who knows? Maybe, if I had been listening, I might have even recognized God's voice.

Todd

Sheep

First, I need to make a correction. Ben actually said, "suffocating." My apologies on this quote being incorrect.

Second, it is great to be at home this evening. Since Thursday morning, I have been home all of about 9 hours (mostly sleep). I had a meeting, a great visit to Rensselaer, a lock-in, a birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa's, a 10.2 mile run followed by a walk with Jan, and a campfire at Aunt Lois'.

So this past week, I have been thinking a lot about sheep and shepherds. When I was in second grade, Mrs. Harrison's class (my class) and Mrs. Beatty's class (the class that shared a retractable wall) took a field trip to my house. Yes, I can still see the big yellow limousine parked in the middle of the yard. We took a field trip to see the sheep shearing at our barn. Actually, now that I think about it some more, this was preceded at some point by a visit from my dad and a lamb to our classes. This was a very cool day for me because how many kids actually get to take a field trip to their own barn?

This morning, I was taking a much needed break in the "office" and continued reflecting upon John 10. Well, now it is too late to finish this so I'll finish tomorrow.

Take care,

Todd

Daily Rituals

Well, I stepped away from work for a few minutes to grab a bite to eat and decided to write a quick blog post. It is quite unusual to write a blog post at lunch during the work week. Actually, I'm not sure if I have ever done this. However, it is kind of keeping in them with this post. This week, I realized how almost ritualistic my days had become.

Wake up at 6:00
Scramble over to weight room
Lifting and cardio until 7:20
Race back home
Showever
Breakfast
Breathe
Get at work by 8:00
Work until noon
Step out for lunch
Okay you get the idea

To break it down even further, the first thing I do at work in the morning is go around the plant and check out copper weights. Then, I work on set-up sheets. Then, engineering of new products.

This all is just so ritualistic and repetitive. I like Ben's word from last night, "stifling."

So this week, I tried to intentionally shake things up just a little bit. For example, on Wednesday, I stayed home from the weight room and finished the Shack while drinking some delicious coffee. Yesterday, during lunch, I took off for a 10k run. Today, I'm writing this blog post.

I'm just not wired to get into that time of ritualistic living. It truly is stifling. Hopefully, in recognizing this, opportunities will arise to reinject some creativity into the journey.