“All you need is Love...and coffee.”

 “All you need is love…and coffee.”  I saw this on a mug that was at a holiday party last week.  It was given in the gift exchange.  I didn’t get it, but oh well.  I got the message.

We need the big stuff, the love, from ourselves and others, but we need the practical little stuff too.  We need the daily rituals we offer to ourselves that give us a sense of strength and “can-do” to deal with whatever life brings our way.  In fact, these daily rituals are a way to tend to ourselves.  My favorite definition of love is “paying attention.”  Making myself a cup of coffee in the early morning, before the rest of the house is awake, has become a soothing ritual for me.  A way to tend to myself.  To prepare for the day, and frankly, to love myself.  

Another message I got from this new and improved Beatles quote, is that it tells women straight up what we need to stay emotionally healthy.  We need the love and yes, we need the coffee.  A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that women who drink coffee reduce their risk of depression by as much as 20 percent.  When I read that, I lost all guilt about my java.  Sure, for some of us, too much caffeine can be not so good.  And I support anyone who chooses not to consume caffeine.  (There are plenty of ways to find our get up and go!)  But for those of you who like your coffee, you can feel good about helping yourself feel good.