Sure, a pile of dried tea and a tea bag, but what is the story when you read the tea leaves?
It was a quiet wintry morning. The rising sun was casting long golden fingers of sunlight across the breakfast table. On it, a small oriental tea pot with a strainer with tea leaves.
“First Flush” she said – the very first plucking of a tea plant’s harvest season.
The new growth plucked are the youngest and most tender parts of the tea plant and are said to yield the purest and freshest cup of tea that plant is capable of producing.
A rich fragrance was filling the room unleashing our imagination. We could smell the tropical rain. Little beads of sweat on our faces from the heat and humidity, we found ourselves between the rolling hills with tea pickers, carefully selecting the leaves and working the plants with reverence. We heard the laughter of children playing in the village in a distance. We traveled the journey; the short steaming, the shaping of the leaves that gives it flavor, the oxidation and drying. The packaging, transportation, all hands that touch this beautiful product of nature before it is poured into the strainer here in Europe.
We consume the tea mindfully, fully aware of its rich aroma and with a sense of gratitude and joy. We feel good about paying a little more; a true price for a sustainable product.
Then there is the mass produced teabag: each teabag exactly the same shape, weight and taste as the next. Produced to fit in its economical proposition of efficiency and profit. Unimaginative and often consumed mindlessly.
The richness of a life doesn’t originate from more “stuff”. It comes from a life fully lived. From a life where we are truly present in this very moment – because that is the only the thing that really is – and savor what our beautiful planet has got to offer.
“Tomorrow hasn’t come yet and yesterday has past.”
Such a simple powerful truth and so often overlooked. Our lives are crammed with appointments, things to do, and distraction by social media, online chatting and Netflix. When we get a pause, we feel empty and listless, because we suddenly don’t know what to do with ourselves. And we believe by becoming ….. (fill in the blanks with “richer” , “more famous” , “more places to go”, ” more comfort”, “a higher position”, and so on) we won’t feel the emptiness. And more stuff means more exploitation of the planet.
How would it be to simply stop, pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy the richness of where it came from, what contributed to its arrival in your teacup, and cherish the moment with your teacup?
Equally, how you “feed” your mind will impact what you do. Will you provide your mind with nurturing, inspirational and sometimes hard-to-digest information? Or do you choose the dopamine-inducing and easy content?
Listen to the 12+1 Wisdom Fire podcast, to learn more!
This blog is based on the Heartwork newsletter, 23rd of April 2023. Would you like to read more inspiring content?