A cup of tea makes…

As I continue my journey to a simpler and less cluttered lifestyle, I’ve been slowly getting rid of lots of stuff including some of my “collection” like cookbooks, and of some of the furnishings that I thought I couldn’t part with because they are antiques. Despite all of my efforts, I have not been willing to let go of my collections of tea pots and cups and saucers. In fact, I’ve now added beautiful tin cans of my favorite teas to my collection.

I like my early morning cup of coffee to get me going; I’m often standing while I drink it and at least 8 ounces of water. Then it’s tea for the rest of the day. I grab my journal and meditative reading, set a place setting for my tea and some kind of tea biscuit or scone while the water is brewing. I mostly prefer loose teas; my favorites during the day are blacks like Early Grey or Oolong and force myself to drink green teas for its health benefits. One of my absolute favorites is Rooibos for its deep rich reddish-brown color and no caffeine, especially in the late afternoon or evening. That’s all I’ll say about teas although I have a collection of thirty different types, caffeinated, decaffeinated and herbals.

For me, it’s all about the ritual I’ve created for myself. I pick the teapot depending on the type of tea I’m drinking, green tea in one of my Japanese tea pots that were gifted to me from Kyoto or my Earl Grey and English Breakfast in my English style white ceramic or vintage pots and the same care and coordination goes into the selection of my teacup or mug.

I quilted for my daughter, Naima c.2008

Sitting with pen and paper, reading materials and my tea, I start my morning with what I think of as my meditative and spiritual practice and taking in my beautiful surrounding and offering gratitude.  I close my eyes and I pray; I pour tea and a little milk; and I open my books and journal.

Do you have a morning or evening meditative or relaxation ritual? Please subscribe to Love the Body You're In for my latest blogs.