After-a-break

What is office to you, is it the work desk, the presentations, the meetings, networking or is it something beyond that?

For most of us who have been working especially in the corporate environment it is something that we have not given much thought to. We go to work, make friends, rivals, we get bogged down, sometimes we just breeze through, join work, leave work, keep in touch, fall out of touch but we never think of that one thing that connects us (at least at work)

That one thing around which all conversations take place, the one inconspicuous machine that absorbs all the vibes, good & bad. That one corner where the coffee machine sits calmly churning cup after cup of hot coffee and observes a range of emotions.

It sees friends share camaraderie over a cup, rivals summing each other up, it sees the intern come there broodingly wondering what’s in store for him, the go-getter smirk, the come through executive pinning his hopes, the on-my-way out employee shake his head and advise, nothing is going to change here. It sees a lot and silently stands sentry to their thoughts, guards all the secrets and provides them comfort.

I was pretty excited to be back in office after a long break in my career. And I made sure I did not have my coffee at my desk (only the ones who want to show that they are busy all day – even during lunch do that). I found my partner, my reverse image, she was the calm to my wild, the ground to my flights (of fancy), the sense to my spirit, in short, she kept my feet firmly on the ground while letting me soar.

We would ping each other for the much-needed breaks for coffee, we spent time talking contemplating, guessing, planning and weaving dreams along with our delicate threads of friendship together.

I looked forward to this ritual. It was a pause in the world of chaos, a pause that allowed us to shed the cloaks of formality and let us be the people we were.

And then she left, she moved on and left me holding two cups of coffee for I was used to doing that.

I have moved on too, in life, at work. We all come to terms with people exiting that space in our life. But we did not end it there. We still meet for coffee albeit at a different place.

I still hang out at the coffee machine sometime with other colleagues, those stolen moments are special. They make my coming to work something to look forward to.

I miss my partner but work goes on, life goes on and coffee it still smells so good.