After These Messages...We'll Be Riiiiight Back!

I’m not necessarily proud of the fact that I spent my free-time doing this, but I listened to the Fraggle Rock theme today on youtube. ("Throw your cares away...leave them for another day...come to Fraggle Rock!" I was oddly trusting of the Fraggles, even though, to this day, I have no idea what a Fraggle is...). For some reason, I wanted to hear the song out of sheer desire to relive that small part of my childhood to see if I was remembering it correctly. I miss things like cartoon theme songs in the same way that I miss the ignorant innocence of not knowing how unpredictable the world can be. The simplistic awe of a child can bring me right back to a time when cartoon theme songs were the soundtrack of my life. When my sister and brother-in-law came to visit me, my nephews and niece thought that the whole apartment complex was my home. I practically lived in a chateaux in their eyes. I miss having that incorruptibility, the lack of knowledge that contributes to having a dynamic imagination about everything in the world around me. Apartment complexes become palaces and hotels (no matter how ratty tatty) are like amusement parks if they had a pool!

Hearing the Fraggle Rock song reminded me of a time when I would wake up on Saturday morning with the sheer intention of watching cartoons- my whole morning revolving on that axis, on the existence of characters full of life and laughter. Simplicity at its best. Fraggle Rock, Garfield and Friends, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inspector Gadget, and, on some of the more indulgent mornings- Care Bears or Ducktales. And I wasn't even a TV-watching kid...on Saturday mornings, though, for about an hour and a half, cartoons were my world!

Nowdays, kids don’t even have to watch commercials. Parents can DVR the show and run through the lapses in programming. Who am I kidding? The KIDS can work the DVR just as adeptly as the parents. I should know, I watched my nephews and niece maneuver through the menu on their TV faster than I could say, “Don’t change the channel!”

As I think about the way things “used” to be, even when I was younger, I’m astonished at how fast the world changes and adapts. It makes me nervous in a way that I am glad I have a Faith that isn’t affected by all this change, I stand on a foundation that is firm. Whew- good to know!!

However, we can’t ignore the fact that development exists to help us be more productive individuals, so I have decided to not only embrace change, but also think about ways, at Starbucks, that change or even a revert back to the more simplistic could be more helpful.

1. When people come up the register, the pastry case and the menu are often overwhelming to them, even veterans who know what they want, sometimes people look dejected before they even order, and many times the workers are asked, “What do you suggest?”… People can find themselves just ordering what they always order because they don’t know what else to get and they don’t feel like having to really “think” about it too hard.

Solution: What if people could walk in and say, “I feel like something slightly sweet, cold, with vanilla in it.” And the person at the register, armed with an abundance of information, could offer up a couple of comprehensive suggestions for them. The customer would not only be introduced to new delicious drink alternatives, but they would be given an opportunity for their current craving to be met. It’s really a win-win situation and it puts the “home” feeling back into coffeehouse. I know that the drawbacks are that some people want to be in and out with no personal connection, which is why we invented drive-through and online banking so that we could do everything without having to see another human being as long as we live. Human connection is part of what makes the day enjoyable, otherwise, we are all just moving along in our bubbles, never having any solid interaction or building meaningful relationships. Our days are becoming increasingly devoid of external growth. We are encouraged to become more and more introverted and self-concerned which isn’t always a bad thing, but can lead to an unfulfilling life.

Confession: I found out today that I didn’t win a contest in which I was entered. While I shouldn’t have cared because it wasn’t my idea in the first place, I was still disappointed in a way that mentally highlighted my deficiencies. I began to realize that, wow, we are such delicate creatures that teeter on a balance between resilience and resignation.

One day, I may feel like no one can touch me and my childlike wonder fills me with the limitless possibility of potential and imagination, and other days, I feel like one bad encounter can cripple my mental capacity to do ANYTHING worthy or valuable. Losing is losing is losing. Losing a contest, losing a relationship, losing a job- it’s all the same, it leaves a void, even if it is a good thing that we needed to “lose.” Ironically enough, my devotion this morning was about loss. It’s how we view our loss that will ultimately determine how we deal with our loss. We should view our loss as a gain of a new opportunity to put something good back into our life.

The fact that I took this job at Starbucks, as a result of a couple of different losses in my life, has been a perfect example of being “better off” than I was with the things that I “lost.” I lost a relationship and a job, but I gained a whole new lease on my future. I leaned on God harder than I had in a long time, and, as always, He proved steadfast and true. He provided me with a job where I flourish, and where I get to play “mad scientist” with coffee and chocolate and whipped cream all day. Not bad, not bad at all.