The Conversation Over a Coffee: About Life Goal
My stories usually start in a coffee shop. Mostly because I like to stay away from places where everyone can easily find me, like my desk in the office. Not because I don’t like to be found, but I just can’t say no when people come and start a conversation with me.
Or maybe because coffee is my comfort drink. I mean, the caffeine makes me think fast and improves my focus. The bitter taste makes me drink it slowly but surely.
But why what does the coffee shop have to do with the story?
Just keep reading, you’ll understand later. Believe me, I finally understood after he finished his story too.
It started in a coffee shop I usually come to during the weekend. Me and my friend like to visit the coffee shop from time to time. We spend the time working on each other’s projects, works, or just to play Pokemon Go.
Once, I secretly visited the place without asking my friend to join. Well, I love my friend but at times I need some time to be alone. So, that Sunday morning I visited the coffee shop with a plan to finish my goal setting. At my current company, each employee has to write their goals every six months. I had been thinking about it and was all ready to write my goals on Google Docs.
The coffee shop is actually empty on Sunday. But that day, it was a little bit crowded because there was a cashback promo from an app that everyone probably installed because of the promo. Who doesn’t like half-priced coffee?
I sat at my favourite area, the one with a long table that has power outlets under it. The seat is facing a huge window, allowing me to watch the street and its traffic.
That day I sat next to an old man, with a thin figure and bald hair. He looked like the kind of man who doesn’t care about his surroundings, and all he wanted was to drink his coffee. A while later I learned that his name is Allan, after he looked into my laptop screen and read the headline of my Google Docs loudly. “About goals!” he said, and he apologized right after I said “I beg your pardon!” with an irritated tone.
Allan made an excuse that he was bored waiting for his grandchild who’s having a dancing class across the coffee shop. He needed someone to talk to, he claimed that today’s youngster like me always seem to avoid talking to him. Well, I once sat next to an old man on the train from Yogyakarta to Jakarta, he asked me to listen to his story for almost six hours during the trip. Yes, I can relate to those youngsters.
Like I mentioned above, I can’t say no when people start a conversation. So, I drowned into the conversation. Since he knew the purpose of my writing, we started talking about each other’s goals.
I started grumbling about my aspirations, “I believe that I have created the right path to achieve my goal,” I said, then I took a sip of my iced americano because talking made me thirsty. “Yet, it feels like I am walking away, far from it.”
“Well, are you sure that’s what you need?” Allan said wisely.
“Duh, of course! That’s what I want,”
“Let me repeat my question, are you sure your goals are what you need?” Allan asked slowly. I definitely lost my words. Which part of my explanation that he didn’t understand? My goals are what I want.
Allan exhaled slowly, took off his glasses, rubbed his face, and put his glasses back on. It reminded me of how old he is, probably feeling so lonely because everyone seems to avoid talking to him in his older years. It made me think that talking to him was the right thing to do.
He started telling a story about a young man who I believe was himself. The young man followed his dream. He has tried everything, spent time learning everything to make his dream comes true. Yet, nothing ever seems to work out.
“That is exactly how I feel!” I said in the middle of his story.
“Until one day, his mother came to him, she whined about her tooth pain,” he continued. He suddenly had an idea to continue studying and pursue his new goal as a dentist. He had this new goal that he wanted to achieve, and at that time, everything is like serendipity. When he needs something to reach his new dream, the things will come eventually. Then he ended up becoming a successful dentist.
“The story might sound like a story from a children book, but all you have to do is…”
“Please don’t say pray harder. I mean I believe in God, but I have to actually do something to achieve my goal, right?” I said before he finished his words. He laughed.
“Do the elders you meet always talk about religion at the end of the conversations?” Allan asked. I nodded. “What I’m trying to say is, accept who you are and be aware of what you are capable of,” he said. That makes sense to me.
Why does it make sense? Let’s say that I have a dream to be a singer, but I only sing in the shower all my life. I never try to learn how to be a good singer, never join a musical school, let alone trying to sing on a stage. How can I become a singer? Well, unless there is a miracle. That’s funny.
“One more thing,” Allan said after taking the last sip of his coffee. “It is OK to change your mind. That is one thing that people usually avoid doing because most of them are too afraid people will judge them as a failure.”
Allan looked onto his watch, “The class should have ended by now,” he talked to himself. “Life only happens one time Lana, don’t waste your time blaming yourself as the biggest reason of why you do not achieve your goal,” Allan smiled.
He waved to a cute little girl who smiled to him and gave him a big hug. I figured that she is his grandchild. “Can I ask one more question?” I said after the girl decided to buy a croissant before leaving. Allan asked the girl to join the line full of people wanting to buy cheap coffee and said that he will join her soon.
“What is your old goal? You know, the one you had before you changed it to being a dentist,”
“I wanted to have a coffee shop,” he smiled. “That’s why I always accompany my grandchild every week. By doing so, I can drink coffee while waiting. Besides, I can’t live without coffee,” he laughed and said goodbye to me. He wished that I could achieve my goal soon, he also repeatedly said, “Remember, it is OK to change your mind”. He hoped that we could meet again someday. It looked like he really enjoyed my company.
Before I met Allan, I have this biggest fear in life that I will be the person who fails and regrets all my list of accomplishments. After I met Allan, I learned that I also need to accept who I am. Life only happens one time, why do I need to hate myself?
Besides, Allan can still have a nice coffee every Sunday even though he doesn’t run a coffee shop. That’s a happy ending for his story.
Found the reason why the story started in a coffee shop yet?
