There is wisdom that comes from a freshly brewed teapot. Teachings of patience and presence are housed within the corridors that keep this lively drink warm. Drinking tea is an invitation to be in this moment. Drinking tea is also beautiful. It is a source of creative inspiration. The sight of seeing the leaves expand and fill the water with their flavor and scent is a metaphor for many things if you look and listen closely.
Poem by Thich Naht Hahn
Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future. No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.
This is the act of life, in one pure moment,
and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed:
all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense,
invented in our minds for no good purpose.
There is only the tea, and me, converging.
Photo by Christian Solorzano, Late 2023