Why is it that so many bloggers sit in coffee shops with their laptops or notebooks to write? Why have so many inspirational writers and artists throughout history like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Dali spent the majority of their time creatively fuelling and exhausting their minds in Parisian cafes?
The romanticized notion of coffee culture makes me wonder why it is that such a large population is devoted to this lifestyle. Could it be that the ambience and casualty of an environment with individuals of all kinds stimulates the imagination. Perhaps it is due to the habit one takes of observing passersby. It could be a reminder that we are all a part of something bigger; the feeling of community. What of the happenstance that someone familiar could waltz in, leading to an unexpected catchup. There is something to be said about the intimacy of an individual that asks to sit at your tiny table in rush hour. You could go about your business, as I do, typing away to your blog while he sits opposite reading a book. In this sudden instant you are no longer an independent island floating through a grandiose city with millions of other independent islands, but you become a part of a momentary interaction. It is a glance into a human world where a stranger is no longer a stranger but an acquaintance. As you two sip away at your drinks and continue your separate affairs in a sort of togetherness.
A coffee shop can awaken strange musings. It is no longer a space for mere beverages and croissants but a place of unforeseen interaction with emotional detachment. It is a lifestyle that holds romantic ideals; you can imagine and dream up all that you will, while indulging in your generally overpriced latte. The utter anonymity can be euphoric. You can take on the character of whoever you chose when you make eye contact with a stranger and look away, realizing for an inexplicable reason that you've just felt a rush of elated happiness. Sometimes you find yourself wondering whether you have seen him somewhere before or if he's seen you. You look back to your screen and quietly continue tap-tap-tapping away at the keyboard after you've both eyed each other on his way out. If only in that instant you were more daring like a bold character in a novel or film; the kind of adventures that have often evoked a fixation in you.
Maybe you too contemplate why you bother spending so much of your time in these spaces? Then perhaps you, like I, have realized there is something comforting in the atmosphere. Though it may be glamourized, you continue to spend the only spare change you have to step outside of your home on the days when you are alone to sit amongst a crowded room and write.
0 comments:
Post a Comment