Now granted, not all people are unable to answer this question. There are those select individuals in this life who have the complete confidence and security to order a drink without any hesitation. But this is a select few. Most people have no idea what they want to drink when they come into the coffee shop I work at, and in my opinion, every coffee shop. One would think, that when making the decision to go to a coffee shop the thought of getting some sort of coffee beverage would be the goal. This apparently never enters the mind of most people who walk through the door. The process ends up going something like this: either a single individual or a group of people will cross the threshold and enter the coffee shop. During the short journey from the door to the register, they will come to realize they have no idea what they are going to order. If alone the person will quickly retreat either backwards or to the side of the counter delaying the inevitable conversation of ordering. Groups of people will select the weakest member and throw them to the counter, forcing the weakling to go first while the others can rest in the security of the 'line'. The first words uttered (besides an apathetic "Hello" or "How are you?") are some of the most sheepishly verbalized thoughts ever to tickle the auditory sensors in the ear: "I...don't know what I want..." That is when they apparently see the menu for the first time, and/or become aware that we sell coffee products so they should probably order something in that category. The giant menu board must be one of the most intimidating things to look at out of any invention ever created by man. I suppose it is so threatening because while offering you the facade of free choice, your destiny is limited to the contents of the menu. It is interesting to watch people squirm in the uncomfortable silence between "I don't know what I want..." and "I guess I'll try a ______." I often wonder what thoughts are going through their heads as their eyes search desperately for the drink choice that will be their salvation. Due to the intimidation and the vast array of a predetermined number of choices, some people will defer their decision to the employee working the register. The employee, must then describe the drinks including which ones are hot and which ones are cold (because the labels on the menu are not clear enough). Some people have created a defense mechanism in order to adapt to the environment. The defensive mechanism is simple: order the same thing every time, that way you always know what you want every time you come in, and can therefore avoid the painful experience. This is usually adopted by the weak member of the group, and often, even the confident ones who come in "knowing what they want".
I don't really know why this decision holds so much clout in people's lives. By the way people act when faced to make this choice, it would seem that they were asked whether or not they were going to pull the plug on Mother Teresa in a comatose state. I mean its not really a life or death matter. Well unless you live by the mantra "you are what you eat", which in that case, life looks very different as a caramel macchiato than say a triple shot tuxedo mocha...but I digress...Anyway the choice is not that important. Maybe its fear of making the wrong choice and therefore becoming ostracized by the entire community or at least the employees. Maybe we don't understand why we are getting coffee in the first place. What I mean by that is, we live in such a 'coffee drinker' society and maybe we don't want coffee, but feel pressured to drink it in order to be accepted. If someone doesn't know they don't want coffee, then there is no way they could possibly know what they want to drink, since they might not even want a drink. And since they feel that they have to get some coffee thing, then they would naturally feel that there was a certain type of coffee drink they should get. Someone needs to tell people that, while not made of the same ingredients, all coffee drinks are created equal in the sight of God.
Perhaps that is delving too deep. Maybe the answer is simple. Maybe we just don't know what we want. Not just in the category of drinks at a coffee shop, but life in general. Perhaps this seemingly finite choice is a simple representation of then grand mystery that is life. Maybe the customers' uncertainty about what they want to drink is a direct representation of them not quite knowing where their life is heading just yet, wanting to keep their options open to all possibilities. Maybe I am on to something...or maybe this is just a musing of a modern-day sasquatch...
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