.
You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.
Only in the awareness of the present,
can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.
Only in the present,
can you savor the aroma,
taste the sweetness,
appreciate the delicacy.
If you are ruminating about the past,
or worrying about the future,
you will completely miss the experience
of enjoying the cup of tea.
You will look down at the cup,
and the tea will be gone.
Life is like that.
If you are not fully present,
you will look around and it will be gone.
You will have missed the feel, the aroma,
the delicacy and beauty of life.
It will seem to be speeding past you.
The past is finished.
Learn from it and let it go.
The future is not even here yet.
Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.
Worrying is worthless.
When you stop ruminating about what has already happened,
when you stop worrying about what might never happen,
then you will be in the present moment.
Then you will begin to experience joy in life.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
2 comments:
i do foolish things in the morning, dean. i wait to run my laundry so that i might live inside the white whir. i wear earplugs. i put my hands over my eyes and my eyelashes get pushed down in front of my vision, my vision restricted so that i can only see the smallest part of the immense pine out my kitchen window. (this way i feel as though i see so much more.) i did this all just now. and then i breathed. i picked up my coffee percolator and poured from the slim spout. i saw the beautiful stream and then i said to myself, finally, after all these years, huh, finally i understand the slowness of tea.
xo
erin
If one feels too busy for tea, it's a good check! Whereas coffee makes me feel better, tea makes me feel like being better (to be more worthy of the tea!) :)
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