Day 3 - #peace
It
is fairly common knowledge that I drink tea as though it is necessary
for my existence. Which, in fact, it very well may be. I find that
drinking a cup of tea makes me stop and reflect. Sometimes those
reflections are deep and end with new discoveries about what I believe.
Most times, I simply reflect on the events of my day.
No
matter what though, drinking tea is most certainly a religious
experience for me. I love the litany of preparing my teapot, measuring
out my tea, letting it sit and steep, and the first pour into whichever
of my teacups from which I choose to drink. The whole process reminds
me of the liturgy I deeply love in the Christian tradition. And as every
cup of tea is different, so are my encounters with the Holy.
James
Norwood Platt, a friend of mine and a tea expert once wrote,
“Respectfully preparing tea and partaking of it mindfully creates
heart-to-heart conviviality, a way to go beyond this world and enter a
realm apart. No pleasure is simpler, no luxury cheaper, no
consciousness-altering agent more benign.”
This
quote always hangs in the back of my consciousness as I drink tea. It
speaks of tea as an agent of other-worldliness, a catalyst of peace and
equality. Throughout history, tea has been a traditional equalizer. In
the classic 18th century Book of Tea,
Kakuzo Okakura noted that the tearoom is “preeminently the house of
peace.” Even samurai were required by tradition to leave their swords
hidden outside the sanctuary of the tearoom.
When I sit and drink a cup of tea, I let my thoughts wander. I reflect over my day. I think of how
I encountered the Holy in my interactions with nature and with other
people. And I muse over how the simple action of drinking a cup of tea
connects me to innumerous people across time, to a tradition nearly five
millennia old. It is comforting, and each sip makes me feel more
in-tune with the depths of who I am.
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