Welcome to Wonderball.
This experience is designed to be done in your favorite cafe.
Get out of the office for a minute,
Order your favorite brew,
And then when you're ready,
Push play.
Okay,
You ready?
It's amazing how many opportunities we can find in our day to slow down and reset.
It's important too.
When we're constantly on the go,
Put this crazy pressure on our nervous system.
Your nervous system has a gas pedal called the sympathetic nervous system,
Which revs up when we need extra energy,
You know,
To fight a lion or meet a deadline.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the brake pedal.
It comes in to repair the body,
Just like a car engine.
When our bodies get all gas and no brake,
They're likely to blow up.
An out of whack nervous system causes stress,
Of course,
But also chronic pain and can even increase your chance of injury.
In this experience,
We're going to do some mindful coffee drinking.
Yes,
That works.
Just put your attention on your coffee.
Yes,
Stare at it like it's some rare treasure never seen before.
Pick it up and take a sip.
And notice the fancy pattern made by the barista.
In your mind,
Just send them a little thank you for the effort they made.
Okay,
Number seven.
Notice the way the froth feels on your lips,
The flavor in your mouth,
The temperature.
Notice the way the muscles in your mouth and throat work to swallow.
You can say a little thank you to our body for doing all that automatically.
Little things,
Right?
Have another sip like this.
Now let's think about all the people that were involved in delivering this little caffeine fix for you today.
Where have the beans come from?
Not New Zealand.
There's a coffee bean farmer somewhere across the ocean that we can say a little thanks to.
And pickers,
Packers,
Ship's captain,
The crew that brought it here,
The roaster,
And the barista.
The milk has come from a dairy farm,
From a recently pregnant cow,
Milked by a farmer of farm end,
Transported to a processor,
Delivered to the cafe,
Where someone has washed the cup,
Frothed the milk with this flat wipe.
There's a lot of people who came together to make this simple cup of coffee.
Take a minute to thank each of them.
So in this little experiment,
You've not only given your nervous system a much needed break,
But you have cultivated gratitude and given your brain a little workout and focused attention.
Research shows that all these things improve well-being.
Not bad for a quick tea break,
Eh?
Maybe you can finish by saying thank you to yourself.
And thanks from me.
Thanks for being here.
