What is Abundance? Thinking about Human Abundance through Coffee

Hello ☕
I'm Shinzato, a coffee activist.

Lately, the world is changing so rapidly that I wonder if I'm the only one who feels like I can't keep up... 😭
Technological development, environmental issues, war, space exploration...
The speed of change in the world will likely continue to accelerate.

Here, I am the only one standing still, thinking about "abundance."
What is an abundant life?
Perhaps the answer is closer than we think?? 🧐

When we think of abundance, it's easy to imagine
being rich, having a big house, going on overseas trips, and so on.

Of course, I think those things are part of abundance.
But there are things that cannot be explained by that alone.

For example, when eating the same thing, one person might only feel "I'm full."
Another person might feel dozens of changes in taste and aroma within it.
This person seems to be able to feel "abundance" more.

If so, isn't abundance
not just "what you have"but also"how much you can perceive"?

Even with the same dinner, the world you see is different

For example, when eating dinner.
First, there is the physical sensation of "I'm hungry."

You eat and feel "I'm full."
With this, the purpose of the meal is achieved.
Because the physical dissatisfaction has been satisfied.

But let's turn our attention just a little bit from there.

"I like this dish."
"I don't really like this one."

If you dig deeper,
"The moderate sweetness is addictive."
"It has a texture I've never felt before."
you feel.

And beyond that,
"This tomato has a good balance of acidity and sweetness."
"The aroma of the soy sauce changed from the moment it entered my mouth to after I swallowed it."
"The fresh daikon radish tastes just like a pear."

There is a world like that.
You are eating the same dish.
But the world you are feeling is different.

I call this difference"resolution of feeling".
That doesn't mean I'm saying a sensitive tongue is simply important.
It's about being able to find differences and meanings in the same thing that you didn't notice until yesterday.
And gradually coming to understand what you are attracted to, what you find comfortable, and what you feel uncomfortable with.

What is really important here is,
it's not that these worlds have changed, but
that you have increased what you can receive from the world.

I express that with the phrase "increasing resolution."

Coffee is practice for increasing resolution

I used cooking as an example earlier, but
coffee is the same.

"I drink it because I'm sleepy."

This is a physical pleasure.
Consuming caffeine to wake up.
That is also an important value of coffee.
Because of this,
about 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day.

However, I would like to propose another way to enjoy it.

It is to taste coffee using your own senses.

What does today's coffee taste like?
What is the quality of the acidity?
Is there sweetness accompanying it?
Is the bitterness pleasant?
What kind of aroma does it have?
What kind of aftertaste remains after swallowing?

For example,
"It tastes like chocolate-dipped pineapple"
"It has a syrup-like, clear sweetness"
"It's a dazzling flavor, like a kaleidoscope"

Sometimes such words come to mind.
Of course, there is no right answer, and I don't think evaluation is essential for coffee.

What is important ishow you yourself felt.

Refining your own "yardstick"

As you continue to drink coffee, you will become able to notice differences you didn't notice before.

At first, it might just be "it's somehow delicious." In fact, that's fine.
As you drink it consciously,
it becomes "it's somehow more sour than usual,"
then "the acidity and bitterness are strong,"
then "the acidity is strong, but the balance with the sweetness is good,"
and then "I like this quality of acidity,"
it keeps changing.

In other words, it's not just that the coffee has changed, but your own "yardstick" has changed. I believe there is great value in this "updating of your yardstick."

Richness is not just about increasing things

Modern society has become very rich.
Of course, there are various social issues,
such as economic disparity and environmental problems.
There are also many problems that need to be solved.

But on the other hand, from a historical perspective, aren't we living in an era where we can enjoy an enormous amount of things?
In terms of food, information, and entertainment, materially speaking,
humanity has certainly become richer.

Then, why does the situation occur where "we should have become rich, but we cannot feel that richness"?

I believe one of the reasons for that is,

that "what we have" and "what we can perceive" do not match

I believe so.

No matter how much abundance is right in front of you, if you cannot perceive it, it will not become abundance for you.

Therefore, what is needed is not just to increase abundance further, but perhaps to polish

the ability to perceive abundance as well.

Coffee brings us back to the "now"

In that sense, coffee is a very interesting tool. If you want to savor coffee, you must focus on the "now."

The temperature I feel right now.
The taste I feel right now.
The lingering finish I feel right now.

Even if you brew it under the same conditions, the first time and the second time will be subtly different. Perceiving those small differences in sensation.
Such acts have something in common with Zen and meditation.
And the "ability to feel the now" that you acquire here is not limited to coffee alone.
The air when you go outside in the morning.
The color of the sky when you suddenly look up.
The taste of a meal.
The changing of the seasons.
A conversation with someone, and the expression on their face.

The skill of returning to the "now"
shows us things in our daily lives that we had previously overlooked.

I repeat, it is not that the world has changed, but that the amount you can receive from the world has increased.

The resolution of each individual changes society

And what I am ultimately thinking about through coffee is not just individual abundance.

Each person has their own yardstick.
Perceiving that the world is abundant.
Feeling abundance within oneself.

If more people become like that, wouldn't the way society is also change little by little?

When we talk about changing society, we imagine changing systems or starting large movements. Of course, that is also necessary. But before that, isn't it also important for you yourself to know what you consider to be abundant?

If you don't have your own yardstick, you will end up living by someone else's.
"Likes" on social media or rankings.
Success that someone else appears to have achieved.
I think there is a risk in letting such things become the standard by which you determine your own abundance.

That is why you should polish your own sensibilities.
Have your own yardstick.
And keep updating that yardstick.

And the coffee in front of you

That is why I recommend that you change the way you look at the coffee you brew today just a little bit. The coffee you always drink is fine.

Through a single cup of coffee, I ask myself, "What am I feeling?"
That small habit refines my sensibilities. And those sensibilities expand beyond just coffee.

In this way, the resolution of my world increases. I believe that coffee has the power to do that.

How much can we sharpen the "ruler" we use for that?
I truly feel that a cup of coffee teaches us about the richness of the world.
Perhaps the world is overflowing with richness. ☕