Over Coffee

Coffee shop people are all the same. They dress the same. They talk about the same things. Ninety percent use MacBook laptops. They all drink coffee.

There is one guy, though, who does not quite fit the mold. And by “does not quite fit the mold” I really mean “does not fit the mold at all.” I believe his name is Carlyle. That may not be how you spell it, but it’s how I will spell it for the sake of consistency.
Carlyle drives four cars. I can’t name all of them, but they all cost more than my four years of college tuition will. The most flashy is his Lamborghini. He drives his Cadillac when it rains. I think it’s the only one he ever drives more than one day consecutively.

Carlyle wears amazing suits. Yesterday it was a black and white checkered double breasted suit. The checker part was awesome. The double breasted part not so much. He has a whole wardrobe of great suits, complete with infinite amounts of shirts and ties that match perfectly.
Carlyle gels his hair. I’d put money on it that he uses the most expensive, best quality, and best smelling hair gel he can find. He probably uses half a bottle a day.
Carlyle arrives at the same coffee shop on Hillsborough street every day at 2:00 in the afternoon. He orders a shot of espresso. It might even be a double shot. I wouldn’t be surprised. He sits down, usually at one of three small tables along the wall. He either reads fancy magazines about hand guns, airplanes, or other classy subjects. Sometimes he does a crossword puzzle from the news paper. Sometimes he does both. After a few minutes one of the baristas will bring him a small cup of gelato. At 2:45, he leaves.
Carlyle has a tab at the coffee shop.

So, now that you know Carlyle better than his own mother, I will tell you why I think he is so fascinating. I think Carlyle is fascinating because he is incredibly unapproachable. He is so very different from the stereotypical “college-student-coffee-getter.” He has money, he has fancy possessions, he has nice hair. We, as poor, caffeine addicted college students can only wonder at the nature of Carlyle.

It is not as if we have not tried to relate ourselves to him. Just the other day I was sitting at a table beside his. As I began to pull out my own crossword puzzle, he began to put his up. 
“Did you finish it?” I asked.
“I’m leaving soon, you can have my table,” was his only reply.

I cowered back and hovered over my own crossword, while my friend across the table laughed at me. I would not give conversation with Carlyle a second attempt. Carlyle was too outside my comfort zone. I sipped my coffee.

How often does this happen? How often do we turn to our crossword puzzles and coffee instead of pursuing that which interests us, that which could influence us, or that which we could influence?

I was drinking coffee with a new friend last week. He’s a couple years older, and applying for jobs. He had just dropped off an application at a firm earlier that morning.
“If I get this job,” he said to me, “I will be working in a cubicle from eight to five. I don’t want to work in a cubicle from eight to five.” We then went on to talk about other career related things. Eventually it circled back around to the “want” issue.

My friend has another friend who is an English major. When asked why he was an English major, he simply replied, “because I want to write.” My friend told me he really admired that. I think that I admire it, too.

I’m sitting across the table right now from my good friend Everett. Everett is what I would call fluent in Spanish. He’s learned it well. He’s been carrying on a conversation with a guy a couple tables away (I think in class they call him “Miguel”), completely in Spanish. Neither of them speak Spanish as a first language. I am intrigued by this, because it would be much simpler for them to talk to each other in English.

I feel like a lot of time I learn something, and toss it aside. Whether the subject is math, communication, or spirituality, I seem to have a hard time applying what I learn. I think this is also a comfort zone issue. I’m so content using what I already know, and what I am good at, that I’m not interested in applying new things. I learn them, sure, but it’s much more comfortable not to use them. 

I don’t necessarily want to settle for what’s comfortable. I think that sometimes being comfortable is alright. Sometimes God puts us right where we need to be. But other times, we ignore challenges to stay where we are.

I think we should pursue Carlyle. We should get to know him for who he is, and not for how we see him.
We should study things we’re interested in, not something that will put us in a cubicle from eight to five.

We should speak spanish fluently, because it’s new and exciting. Not settle for english simply because it is easier.

I want to apply myself to what is great and awesome. I want to be encouraged by growth and learning. I want to live to the full, making use of the blessings and gifts doted on me by the Creator of the universe.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” – James 1:22