Pat has recently been cured of his bad attitude about coffee. For the past week or so he has been enjoying a morning cup, along with commensurate quality of life improvements. Erik’s attitude appears somewhat more intractable.

Pat had made the error of thinking of caffeine as a tool to be used during exams. In fact, he seemed to regard it as something less than natural - a crutch, or even a “drug” in the most insidious sense of the word. He has, of late, come to the (correct) opinion that coffee (as distinct from caffeine) is a necessary component of right-living. If the regular comsumption of coffee must be described in terms as ugly has “habit”, or even “addiction”, by those who fail to see the place of coffee in a complete lifestyle, we might be forced to point out that exercise has a decidedly chemical effect on both body and mind. Regular sleep, food, exercise and coffee are all components of a lifestyle. Coffee is a quality of life factor.

I have been confident that Pat had the potential to be cured. I remain confident that Erik might also one day be cured. We once (temporarily) cured Amy’s sister of vegitarianism, or at least modified the definition to include bacon and sausage as quality-of-food enhancing ingredients. Persistance and availability are really all that’s required. The patient must be allowed to find the cure on their own terms in order to appropriately own the outcome. Without that sense of ownership the motivation to continue might fade with the removal of the supply. That’s why I never try to “push” a cure. Just allow nature to run its course.

This attitude toward cures has its place, to be sure. But it’s not a panacea. For instance, it hasn’t done a thing for Pat’s distance skate technique. That might require decidedly more interventionist measures. Talk about intractable…