Most every day, some time between clearing the dinner dishes and heading into the bedroom for the night, I fill my silver tea kettle and put it on the stove to boil. My tea kettle is huge and it whistles marvelously. It sounds just like you would imagine it should, cartoonishly perfect. I leave it to sing long enough to enjoy the sound, yet not long enough to cause the rest of the household to start shouting at me, then I pour the steaming water into my Lore coffee mug. Selecting from my stash of coveted herbal tea bags, I unwrap one, dip dip dip, and I wait.
I stand there in my kitchen waiting for the tea to steep, and I can already feel my body and mind relaxing in anticipation. (Is that possible, or does anticipation automatically mean tension? I don’t think so.) I remove the tea bag and squeeze out every last drop by wrapping the string around the bag against my favorite teaspoon, the one with the scrolled “N” on the handle that I bought for a nickel at Goodwill, and I’m almost ready. Almost.
While the entire tea making process is ritualistic, my favorite part I share with the small honey bear that lives on the second shelf of my “beverage cupboard” where I store my teas, coffees, creamers and biscottis. I flip his top open and upend him over my steaming mug, then I squeeze his tummy as I swirl the thick stream of honey around and around, watching as it disappears into the hot amber liquid. A couple clinkety clinks of my N spoon, and I’m ready.
I may not have had a moment for myself the entire day, but that’s fine. Now, here with my fingers wrapped tightly around my hot mug of fragrant tea, this is my time. Until this cup is empty, nothing else is important. Nothing can get to me, and the chaos in my head starts to softly and gently click into some sort of order. My thoughts are so clear and my body so relaxed, more so than any other time of the day. The ritual and the tea can do this for me, and it is so freeing to know I can bring myself to this place any time I like with the simple ritual of making myself a cup of tea.
Nicole,
The picture you have painted with your words here… beautiful…
Thank you for it.
-Brett
Brett,
Thank you back. :) Isn’t it funny how blogging circles seem to tend towards like themes and move almost in waves. It seems everyone I know is writing about time. Making time. Taking time. Passing time. Keeping time. Or maybe, like hearing, we read what we want or need to read into things. Reminds me of that old saying, When a student is ready, a teacher appears. I’ve come across a lot of wonderful teachers recently.
Nicole
Nicole,
How wonderful. Thank you for posting.
I love rituals for certain things. They help create holidays for my insides.
I have a morning coffee ritual…pretty similar to your tea.
I can tell you are taking time to listen to yourself. It is beautiful.
your friend,
Nicole,
I agree – it seems like an undercurrent, doesn’t it? I, too, have come across many teachers in the past short while. Perhaps I have also acted as a teacher, to some.
And one thing about being a teacher, I think teachers learn as much from the students, as the students learn from the teachers. When information and learning flow both ways, it is an amazing thing.
-Brett
Harmony,
I knew you would enjoy the ritual part. It really is nice to have specific time set aside each day for ritual and reflection, though I can’t imagine doing it in the morning before coffee. :)
Thank you for keeping tabs on me,
Nicole
Brett,
How true. Since starting to follow the blogger I’ve recently added to my reader, I’ve noticed this amazing way you all play off one another. It’s like a massive brainstorming session, but more relaxed and thoughtful. It feels rather like a comfortable leather reading chair, and I love that about you all.
Nicole
[…] Audeo […]
Hi Nicole
You’re it!!!
I’ve tagged you to play in Brett’s blog game.
Your dog lets you relax and have tea when you wake up? Must be nice!
Whenever I babysit my sister’s Duck-Toller and I get out of bed, before my feet even touch the floor, she’s run to the door yapping. Of course, it’s “Play Time” and Uncle Friar is expected to throw the ball.
My choice is to have my coffee and watch a dog go spastic, or immediately take her outside and run her and take her edge off. (Which is a lot of fun when it’s minus 20 outside) :-)
Hi Nicole,
Just wanted to let you know I tagged you with a meme. You’ll have to visit my blog to find out how to deal with this memism. Don’t feel obligated to do it if you don’t want. I will still like you if you don’t.
That is a nice ritual you have going there. My rituals help anchor me also, and I don’t feel right unless I enact them. One of my rituals is to burn incense during periods when I’m irritable or chaotic. My mind calm down because I have habituated my mind with the idea that incense means serenity.
Ellen
@Friar THAT is why I have a little dog, and a lazy little dog to boot! We get up in the morning, she stretches, goes outside to do her thing, comes back in to eat breakfast, then she’s ready to go back to bed. Yay! Peace and quiet for another couple of hours. :)
@Ellen I think you’ve hit it spot on. It’s not the tea so much that calms and relaxes me, but the fact that I’ve trained my mind that this ritual means I peace and my mind automatically relaxes now.
Now, to go see what devilment you two have tagged me for. :)