Steve Wyzga

Thanks for Choffy

It was almost noon. I’d written, worked out, showered and just had my first sip of Choffy! “O that’s good!” There was an immediate expression of robust thanks — maybe bordering on worship.

My wife and I came upon Choffy in the past decade. Some years back, I had fasted coffee for Lent, and afterward my wife said: “I think you should stay off that.”

What you need to understand is I have always been high energy ADD. I was one of those kids in class constantly raising their hand: “Oh, oh, call on me!” Age has mitigated some of my perpetual internal energy. And painfully acquired wisdom has helped develop some self-control. But still, civilization in better served if I stay off caffeine.

Enter Choffy. It is roasted cacao beans versus coffee beans. Cacao contains some caffeine (23g?), but it’s the theobromine that provides the subtle, sustained lift. And cacao’s anandamide helps manufacture serotonin, the happy hormone. So yes, nice stuff.

But what got my attention that morning, was my spontaneous outburst of thanks. In reflection, that first taste was hours later than normal, after a very active morning. Coffee drinkers, can you relate?

This led me to hypothesize: expressed gratefulness is conversely proportional to felt need. In other words, a strong yearning, suddenly met, often results in spontaneous thanksgiving. If so, is a consequence of living in a prosperous culture, where deprivation is less common, mean the giving of thanks is less frequent? In our abundance, have we lost appreciation? And: can I live overtly thankful, despite experiencing provision?

Decades back, my wife went through an exercise of recording every day, on the fridge calendar, five things for which she was thankful. It took work: focus and extended reflection. I remember the children checking out daily what she had written. But I, as the closest benefactor of her experiment, can attest to the transformation in her. Decades later, she is still filling out gratitude journals.

Another habit she initiated more recently, was thanking me for daily activities:

• “Thanks for making the bed.”

• “Thanks for doing the finances.”

• “Thanks for help with the dishes.”

It affected me. So, in time, I started reciprocating:

• “Thanks for making dinner.”

• “Thanks for clean clothes.”

• “Thanks for doing the shopping.”

An unexpected benefit was that in giving thanks, I received a deposit of joy, gladness, even peace. Additionally, I found that giving thanks pushed back on unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, even fear. It helped improve my outlook on the day, which is helpful in a world that contains good and evil, gifts and trials.

That makes “Thank You” a pretty powerful weapon in dealing with inner demons. And it becomes a practice that nourishes others even as it benefits one’s self. What a grand gift in such a small package.

I’d say it’s even better than Choffy.

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