The Paradigm of the Coffee Cup

The Paradigm of the Coffee Cup

“When a simple espresso becomes a mirror of struggle, privilege, and human nature.”

Sometimes, life’s greatest lessons come in the smallest cups. One sip of coffee, and suddenly the world pauses — revealing struggles, privileges, and choices we barely notice in the rush of everyday life.

Yesterday, after finishing a strenuous surgery on a crazy wisdom tooth, I walked into the recovery room of our clinic, as I often do. Straight to the Nespresso machine. There it was: my Ristretto capsule, resting on the elegant holder, waiting for me to claim it.

I placed it into the machine, pressed the button, and soon the aroma filled the room. As I lifted the cup, bringing the dark roasted liquid closer, the world froze. Time stopped. The earth paused its rotation.

And in that suspended moment, it was just me, the smell of freshly blended coffee, and a silence no one could disturb. No complaints, no arguments, no one trying to steal my coffee.

But then, my mind wandered.

Years ago, in another clinic, they installed a coffee machine. Naturally, I thought it was for everyone. I was wrong. Every attempt to pour a cup was blocked by a gatekeeper — a fat, bestie woman who reminded us, “This coffee belongs to Professor X (from X-man), the owner!”

And I would protest, half-smiling, “But it’s only coffee… what harm can it do?”

For me was actually unbelievable how a clinic that profits millions cannot pay a single coffee to their employees, the ones who are in the field of battle helping you to succeed !

That memory blended with another, further back. Sweden, 2001. Twenty-one days in the Padjelantaleden mountains with my friends Daniel and Tiago — a journey that changed me , and transform me in what I am today !!

The Padjelantaleden is a wild trail in Swedish Lapland, about 140 kilometers long, stretching from Kvikkjokk to Ritsem. It crosses Padjelanta National Park, a vast plateau so open and silent that you feel both small and infinite at the same time. Days went by without seeing another soul, only reindeer, rivers, lemmings and the endless Arctic sky.

There, coffee wasn’t a casual routine. It was scarce, expensive, and precious. Every shared cup in a hut or around a fire carried weight — it meant welcome, survival, and human connection in a place where nature strips life down to its bones. And yet, in those remote wilderness days, no one ever refused us a coffee.

”Have you taken the coffee boys …..” was a repeated phrase that everyday haunts us ….

And so I returned to my cup in Lisbon. It felt like a victory. A peaceful, rewarding sip, linking my present with my past.

Until—out of nowhere—a dental nurse strolled in. She pressed the same button, poured the same coffee, and sipped it as if she were at home. No reverence, no pause, no sense of struggle or reward. Just… caffeine.

And suddenly, I faced a paradox.

Was her coffee the same as mine? For her, just routine. For me, a battle won.

I fought hard to earn the right to drink a cup of coffee in peace!!

If I let her drink in peace, am I fostering complacency — an easy coffee, with no ambition, no fight? But if I were to forbid her coffee, would that create a struggle strong enough to shape resilience, gratitude, and meaning?

But then another thought struck me: people are different. Not everyone transforms struggle into growth. For some, being denied that coffee might not create resilience — it might create fear, frustration, or resignation. What for me is a fight, for her could be a wound.

And that’s when I realized: the paradigm is not the coffee. It’s the person.

Churchill once said: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times, easy times create weak men.”

But not everyone lives the same cycle in the same way. The same hardship that builds one can break another. The same privilege that makes one complacent can inspire gratitude in another.

In the end, I simply greeted her:

“Good morning. Great coffee, don’t you think?”

She smiled softly and whispered:

“It keeps me going.”

And she walked away.

I sat there, holding my cup, not knowing if I had acted rightly. A coffee cup turned into a mirror of mankind — a paradox brewed differently in every soul that drinks it.