I Sparkle - Taking Time for Tea

Some years ago Saturday was a day to get up early and be the driver for activities or classes. No sleeping in for me. Once I got up and around and delivered my charges to their appointed places I was free for a few hours. Not at home, mind you, but my time was mine to do with as I chose. At the time I taught a graduate course, so I chose to spend the time at a coffee shop drinking tea (ironic, isn’t it?) reading, writing, coordinating or correcting.

I discovered fiction writing and changed my focus. The weekly routine of writing grounded my whole week. I no longer have a regular Saturday chauffer gig. I drive on a more per diem basis at this point.

I have gotten so used to anticipating my Saturday morning tea and pen that I really miss it when I don’t get it.

These days I rarely leave home for my tea. Instead I make a pot just the way I like it. I make a ritual of gathering beautiful tea things together. That first sip is a balm – the cares of the week slip away.

When I first began having tea it seemed like a lot of work, yet it’s not more work than a regular breakfast if you have the things just as handy. It happened gradually for me. I started trading heavy mugs with humorous sayings for china teacups with floral patterns. I added silver flatware from a flea market. Each piece brings a happy memory. Each cup is a reunion. Slowly, my tea things shifted to easier to reach places while other items, less used though more mainstream in appearance, were moved to the back.

By moving these precious things to the front I’m declaring my own importance, my own value.

I drink my cup slowly, savoring the moment.

After my tea time I’m more relaxed and ready to face the world. I’m more cheerful and I’d even bet that I have less wrinkles. If I get my cup of tea, I’m willing to bend my will toward the desires of others. Without it, I’m more likely to feel disgruntled when things don’t go as planned. 

Some people might think that it’s the caffeine that is working the miracles. I have other thoughts on the matter. While I enjoy a cup of tea from a Styrofoam cup on the go as much as the next person, it does not refresh or renew me. At least, it doesn’t do it all by itself. Rather, the act of preparing a beautiful pot of tea has come to be a signal that I am about to slow down, clear my head of the extraneous and have some time inside my own head. My focus begins before I take my first sip. I make a conscious effort to push everything else out of my thoughts and make use of the time. I don’t use the time to pay bills or straighten up the room. The time I have for tea may be the only time I have to write, to create, to fill up my creative self. Believe me when I say that I dive in.

It is difficult for me to clear my mind. I have never been successful at sitting in meditation and clearing out all thoughts. When I make a pot of tea, however, it is often easy for me to banish all the static and focus on my self-renewal.

It takes relatively little time to prepare my tea tray. It takes a lot longer to drink it. I take a sip. I scribble madly in a notebook, on a napkin on my laptop. Drinking a cup of tea takes much longer than eating a meal. It is a time of letting go. It is a time of declaration. It is a time of renewal.

Sparkly Saturdays? For me, they start with tea.

More Sparkly Saturday posts:

Emmy Blue : Children's entertainer and writer who tells her own magical tales and spreads sparkling enchantments all over the Pacific Northwest

Yota Schneider : Seasons of Change Master Coach * Writer * Speaker * Retreats Facilitator * Mindfulness Meditation Practitioner * Mom * Wife * Friend * Ever striving gardener and finder of beauty and peace in the little things

KatWB.com: This is An Online Holistic Arts Center created by Kat WB! Enjoy virtual classes, holistic coaching, a holistic blog, KatWB TV and resources for nutrition, sustainability & self-help.