26th December 2024
I recently came across a beautiful true story, written by a woman named Pam Kearney, on the impact of even the most tiny, inconsequential actions and I can’t stop thinking about this story:
“Pam Kearney visits a local bakery shop to meet the owner. She tells him that a few years earlier, there was a visitation at the funeral home across the street on a bitterly cold winter day. People were lined up around the block in the cold, when a mysterious man appeared and gave them all hot coffee.
She tells the bakery shop owner that she suspects that man was him.
He nods and replies, “Yes, I felt so bad for them and wanted to do something, but all I could do was make coffee, so I made coffee.”
She proceeds to tell him that the visitation was for her 16-year-old son, who had sadly passed away, and thanks him for that tiny act of kindness that meant so much.”
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Every single day, you will face a variety of moments, many of which will conspire to make you feel completely helpless—unable to move or create the necessary momentum to change or improve the situation.
In these moments, you have a decision to make:
》You can freeze, paralyzed by the imperfection of your options…or
》You can act. You can do what you can, with what you have, where you are. You can ‘Make the Coffee.’
It is the most important decision of your life.
Think back on all of the moments where you or someone you know “Made the Coffee” and changed everything.
A short while ago, When an old friend was in a dark place in his life, battling alcohol abuse, our friend group was spread across the country. We couldn’t give him any meaningful advice or stage an intervention.
But we showed up: We organized group FaceTime calls to be with him, to let him know he was loved and after a lot of effort, he went to rehab and recovered.
‘We made the Coffee.’
The moments themselves can be big or small, but the point here is clear:
Action doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be right.
So, today and every single day in the future, when you face a decision and start to feel helpless, ask yourself:
How can I make the Coffee?
As the year comes to an end, just look back and check How many times did someone ‘Make the Coffee’ for you & be grateful and also check, how many times did you, ‘Make the Coffee’ for someone.
Finally, resolve that in the coming year, you shall always be there, not only for your family and friends but also for strangers you come across randomly and ‘Make the Coffee.’
The world needs every bit of kindness we can offer,
‘Make the Coffee ‘ as many times you can & stay blessed forever.