a coke is a coke.

“A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.” 

~Andy Worhol 

Listening to Chasing Slow, the quote sprang out at me. Truth. I mean, it is just a Coke after-all. But there is so much more to it than that. I had to pause and make this draft, stopping what I was doing. Well, I was actually driving at the time, so it was as soon as I stopped. Something about texting and driving and the ice that was coming down led me to believe that it would have to wait. That did not stop the micro-explosion of randomness inside of my mind though.

What did does that mean, exactly? A Coke is just a Coke. It is true. The President of the United States can drink a beverage and that be a can of Coke. Maybe it was procured for him or there was a fancy store that it was purchased at… but the can is the same brown, carbonated, syrupy substance in an aluminum container. It cracks and pops when it is opened. It may fizz a little as the bubbles race throughout as if trying to escape. It pours the same. Perhaps the container is transferred into a golden goblet or expensive crystal glass – but the coke does not change. The homeless person that found change can buy a Coke. From a machine, from the nearest 7-11, or found… The same cracking of the can and bubbles racing to the top.

There are quite a few normal items like that. So many more that are not. Clothes. Where we get them. Homes – what we can afford. Cars… can I just find one that will work for me? A material caste system. We become categorized by the haves and the have-nots. Where do we shop? What do we buy? What do we own? It creates a profile for us. We fit in, in society by these things. Who can be our friends? What neighborhood can we become a part of? What stores can we shop at? The same cliques that we experienced in high school have grown into societal cultures. And it feels that we have moved to haves, have-nots (and have’s with credit cards). The middle class has withered into the upper and lower classes left. Why can’t more things be like a can of Coke? Or are they?

I am not going to belabor the point. In a materialistic world, we still very much live in a caste system. My challenge for you and for me is to pause for a moment. Think about the items that we do have and those that we do not for that matter. What do your belongings say about you? Your style? What do you want them to say? I have lived a minimalist life for about a year. Not extreme – but without a lot of frills. I find myself wanting more at times and can get envy when the new iPhone comes out. Yet, here I am, with my 6S. I did splurge on a new Mac though. Used, two years old and it is more than I need really. You see, since going through a lot of change, I have found myself thinking about everything. Every. Thing. Too much at times. Combined with a strict budget, I have found ways to work within lots of confines. Self-inflicted confines. And each of these is shallow in comparison to those who have not. I am beyond rich, in so many ways. I should not have to remind myself of that. But I do. We do.

I am still happy. Content. The point is this: Celebrate today and enjoy your coke.

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