Dear friends,
Welcome to this meditation on the way of tea.
There is no need to remind you that we live in a world that moves too quickly.
We are left with a feeling of so much to do and so little time in which to do it.
Our rushing thoughts and our scattered attention allow us little time for contemplation or concentration.
But even in a world of noise and haste,
Most of us have within easy reach the ability to stop and make a cup of tea.
But before we leave this room to put on an imaginary kettle,
Let's take a pause for reflection.
Take a slow breath in,
Hold and then let it go.
Again,
Breathe in,
This time more deeply.
Hold for a couple of seconds and slowly exhale.
Let your body soften.
Let your mind settle now as we take a 60 second pause.
A time for you to stop and just be.
Welcome back.
When we make tea mindfully,
We allow ourselves an opportunity to step out of the rush and the hurry of the day.
We turn on the water,
We fill the kettle,
We turn on the power.
There's no shortcut in this process,
So we have to wait for a change.
Let's avoid the temptation to check the phone while the water boils.
This is one of these rare opportunities to just be present.
As the water nears the boiling point,
We warm the teapot,
We put in the tea.
The water boils,
We pour in the water and now we have to wait again.
Tea invites us to slow down.
We have to allow time for the tea to draw out its flavour.
This is the first lesson given to us as we prepare tea.
A reminder to us that there is no need to hurry as much as we usually do.
A reminder also that there are things which just need to unfold in their own time.
Just as we notice the steam rising from the spout of the teapot,
This waiting time in the process of making tea is an opportunity to allow our stress to evaporate as well.
So now let's allow any stress we might be feeling to evaporate.
As we take another one minute break,
A 60 second pause.
When it comes to doing anything,
Including the making of tea,
We can take shortcuts of course,
And we do.
We can use tea bags,
Dropping them into the cup and hurrying matters along by twisting and squeezing with a spoon.
But where is the relaxation in this?
How can the tea have an opportunity to release its flavour?
This hurried procedure,
Which we all fall into from time to time,
Is just another example of our trying to do too much in too little time.
But back to today's tea.
By now the tea is drawn in the old-fashioned way,
And it's time to relax with it.
Imagine holding the cup in your hands,
Feeling its warmth,
Allowing that warmth to travel through your palms and relaxing your body.
This is your invitation for a few minutes to just sit and simply be.
Let's pause again.
As you breathe in,
Feel gratitude for this simple everyday gift,
And with every out-breath,
Release a little more of any tension you may be carrying.
Let all your stresses and concerns dissolve into the air,
Just like the steam rising from your cup.
Welcome back again.
To drink tea slowly reminds us to breathe slowly,
To move more slowly,
And to live more slowly and more deliberately.
Each sip can become a meditation.
Each breath can become a prayer of gratitude.
Hopefully this has brought us to a place of relaxation,
Awareness and gratitude.
A cup of tea connects us to more than ourselves.
In the case of tea,
We remember that the leaves grew in the earth,
Nourished by water falling from the clouds.
And bringing this gift to us in a way that we can benefit from it,
Requires the work of human hands.
A whole legion of people working in cooperation,
And over wide distances,
Before this tea lands on the shelf in our local shop or supermarket.
It's a reminder to us of the interconnected web of all existence,
In which each one of us is an inseparable part.
The Zen master and much-loved Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us,
Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
As if it is the axis on which the whole world turns.
And yes,
When,
During the moments when you do this mindfully,
The world will seem to you to turn more gently.
So there you have it,
Reflections on the way of tea.
So next time,
When you feel stressed or worn out,
When your mind begins to race about regrets concerning the past or worries about the future,
Pause,
Relax,
Make tea.
Watch it brew.
Breathe in the aroma.
Hold the warm cup in your hand,
And let the warmth remind you to extend your warmth into a world which will benefit greatly from it.
Namaste.
