Starbucks Siren

In Vancouver, B.C., like most of the Northwest, there are Starbucks everywhere. I counted as many as three stores in one block. Every time I pass a store and am jonesing for some Joe, I feel an irresistible pull to go in and grab a cup. Like the men on ships and the sirens of old seducing them to the rocks. I actually like coffee more than beer and drink a lot more of coffee, too. Hard to believe because I have a beer blog.

I am not sure that all of this caffeine is healthy. At the World Futures Conference, a dude named Michael Dare who works for MTV was supposed to be in attendance but was a no-show. I wanted to chat with him. Later, I looked him up on the internet and came across this article that interviewed him about his coffee and caffeine addiction. Zoweeee! The article is well-written and tries to look at the research on coffee/caffeine both pro and con. If a pesky ad comes up before the article, copy and paste the url. It should leave the ad behind.

I am struggling with the drinking of coffee. I love the taste and like the buzz, yet there seems to be an undercurrent of anxiety underneath it all, which would stand to reason because caffeine is a stimulant that releases adrenaline and other stress hormones (the fight or flight response). I am wondering if part of the anxiety of our age is at least somewhat in part the result on our society's rapid increase in volume and strength of coffee. We do seem more stressed than ever and I guess we can chase our tails about cause and effect on this one. And if we drink a lot of coffee, we can chase our tails really frantically and fast!

I am not saying that I am quitting or anything. Just taking it a day at a time and will assess where I go from here in a bit. Day 5 of caffeine-free. Praying for God to give me wisdom on this.

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