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Reflections of a recovering coffee addict

Love may be an addiction, but itā€™s at the heart of everything we do. Happy Valentineā€™s Day!
Birthday, 1915, Marc Chagall, courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Yesterday I quit drinking coffee. This wasnā€™t my choice; it was on the advice of my medical professional. Heā€™s loads of fun; this regimen also precludes alcohol, sugar, wheat and dairy. None of those other things caused me a momentā€™s trouble, but the coffee? Iā€™ve been drinking it since I was nine years old. I like the taste, the smell, the buzz. Coffee is a very mild stimulant, I thought, and dropping it out of my diet should be no big deal.

Wrong. I have withdrawal symptoms in spades: headache, tremors, and the need to sleep forever. I looked out at the snow piling up in the driveway, said a bleary ā€œfuggetaboutitā€ and cancelled my appointment for the afternoon.
Two Lovers Beneath an Umbrella in the Snow, color woodblock print, c. 1767, Suzuki Harunobu, courtesy Art Institute of Chicago
Clearly, coffee is a much bigger player in my biochemistry than I thought. Itā€™s clearly a physical addiction, but itā€™s one Iā€™ve never paid attention to. That got me wondering what other habits are running in the background, messing with the fine-tuning of my operating system.
When Iā€™m on the road, I can be outside in the field painting by the time the sun clears the trees. My blog is written, Iā€™m showered, my lunchā€”such as it isā€”is made, and my gear is set up. Why, then, does it take me until late morning to get into my studio at home? Iā€™m not lazy; in fact, Iā€™m pretty darned disciplined.
The Cradle, 1872, Berthe Morisot, courtesy MusĆ©e d’Orsay
Itā€™s this infernal machine Iā€™m holding in my hands. Much of what it shoots at me is chaff, but some things are important. Is there a way to quit my computer like I quit coffee? I donā€™t think so.
ā€œBack when I first decided to become a painter, of my ā€˜artā€™ time, I spent 80% of it painting and 20% on marketing. Now, a couple of decades later, I spend 20% on painting and 80% on marketing,ā€ lamented Michael Chesley Johnsonyesterday. I feel his pain.
Thatā€™s not all I do on this machine. I use my computer to ā€˜talkā€™ to my friends, read the news, and keep in contact with my adult kids and grandkids. But those are things I enjoy. Relationship is programmed into our minds; our systems rise to it like fish to a lure.
On the other hand, thatā€™s what I said about coffee.
The Resurrection, Cookham, 1924ā€“7, Sir Stanley Spencer, courtesy the Tate
Next week, Iā€™m going to gum up my productivity still farther, by having my grandchildren here for the week. Weā€™ll go see if Little Bear is still sleeping, take a twirl or two on our skates, and visit the beach. All painting will be with tempera on a very short easel.
Love may be an addiction, but itā€™s the heart of living. Happy Valentineā€™s Day!