Three Cups of Tea

I am on my third cup of tea this morning. The ritual of filling the electric kettle, pressing down to get it fired up, listening to the sounds of the water bubbling, hearing the satisfying "click", pouring the boiling water into a mug, watching my tea seep, stirring in a dab of sugar, and pouring in a dash of milk heals me. It is a comforting ritual; one I do at least three times a day, if not more. I sip on the hot tea and let it calm me, let it bring me back to the present, let it heal me, let it ground me.

I became obsessed with tea when I lived in the United Kingdom. I was taught the sacred ritual of tea making and tea sharing by dear friends and the habit has stuck ever since. People know that an invitation to my home is often accompanied with an invitation to tea. Lately, I have been grappling with the unknowns and trying to wrestle God into revealing God's plan for me. I have been somewhat scattered, internally; I have been struggling with the weight of the future and the pressure I place on myself.

This morning, I had breakfast with my dear friend. She and I sat in a coffee shop and talked about our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our concerns, our ponderings, and our encounters with God. As we sat there chatting, I hoped God would speak to me through our conversation and perhaps tell me what it is that God wants me to do. I wanted a clear, no nonsense sign. And now, as I reflect on my time with my lovely friend, I realize that God did indeed speak to me--God just didn't give me the clear, no nonsense sign that I was expecting or hoping for. Instead, I heard that I needed to delight, to enjoy, to be, and I needed to write. I wonder if I will ever get it through my head and heart that perhaps God is speaking clearly to me and I am just missing it.

When I got back home from breakfast, I began my tea ritual. I started by filling the kettle and allowing it to boil. Once the tea was made I sat down and journaled. I wrote this, "I'm not sure how to enjoy the moment. How to simply be and delight. Or maybe I do and I have just simply fallen out of practice." Maybe it is less that I don't know how to simply be and more that I have just forgotten to practice. Perhaps, it is that I have not been exercising my "simply be-ing" muscles lately, I haven't been practicing mindfulness, instead, have been hyper focused on the future rather than the moments that I am living in right this second. It took three cups of tea for me to have this realization.

My tea ritual grounds me and challenges me to be present from the very beginning of making the cup of tea to the very last sip. It forces me to live into the moment rather than gulping it down ready for the next thing. It invites me to savor, delight, enjoy and I often end up writing when I drink tea. God is speaking to me, everyday and perhaps in every moment, yet, I miss it. I possess a whole bunch of expectations of what I want God to say to me that I miss what God is actually communicating to me all the time.

I get frazzled and riled up and I begin to spin my wheels then suddenly I zoom out of control and miss the Divine glimmers. I miss those moments of clarity and Divine intervention that break through the everyday ordinary when I zoom. But if I simply tapped the brakes just a little bit, slowed down to a leisurely stroll I would be able to catch the glimmers shimmering beneath the surface. I would be able to hear, listen, and faithfully respond rather than continuing to spin my wheels and go nowhere.

Today, I ran the risk of losing control. I ran the risk of pressing the gas pedal rather than the brake and zooming out of control. Instead, I made tea, I slowed down long enough to realize that I had indeed heard from God, I reflected and allowed the message to seep into my heart. I didn't hear what I expected to hear, the message on the surface wasn't necessarily the one I wanted, but it certainly was the one I needed. And now as I write these words, allowing myself the time to reflect, to relax, to be, to enjoy, to delight, to write I realize that the message is in fact the one I most desperately desired.

I hope that wherever you find yourself my friends, you allow yourself the opportunity to be, delight, enjoy, and maybe even write.

Peace, joy, blessings, and all my Love,

Margaret