I can’t emphasise enough exactly how much I enjoy a moment of peace in the afternoons. I think the day that my children stop napping I’ll be forced to seek employment to escape stress!
I daresay you’ve guessed that for me this should include a cup of tea, and this is a given. The sensory experience of really paying attention to the experience of preparing and drinking tea is very grounding. I didn’t know there was a word for this – Mindfulness.
No doubt you’ve been witnessing the crazy rise of mindfulness colouring books for adults. I was so excited when I first came across one in an ABC store that I snapped it up, ran home and raided my garage for my Derwents. Now the things are EVERYWHERE, lining checkouts along with gossip magazines, softdrinks, choccies and whatever other odd bits float your impulse-buy-boat for braining out.
Having spoken to other people on the topic it appears to be a bit of a love it or hate it thing, and each to their own. It seems like something which can drive the perfectionist in everyone nuts, but in my old age of thirty-something, I’m at a point where I can focus on the journey and not the destination. I’m not being evaluated. I’m basically just doodling on paper. If I make something pretty at the end of it, then, yay!
Is colouring your thing? If not, what do you like to do to relax and bring yourself back to the present moment? Is there something new you would like to try?
Teaview – Good Afternoon – T2
Do you know that T2 will give you free samples if you ask them nicely? Well they do. I’ve always asked *while* making a purchase, so I’m not sure if it’s purchase dependent, but they DO make you up a tester cup in store of things if you do want to try something before committing to buying a box or tin. It’s this sort of thing that keeps me coming back and buying more stuff. Well, that and they kinda own the monopoly on tea. Anywho, whenever I buy something I go home with a sample or two, which inevitably ends up with more purchases, and more samples, and more purchases and more samples and hello I have no money left for food. As it stands I currently have a rather significant backlog to get through! I hope you like tea… If you don’t you’re looking at the wrong blog.
So a little while ago I tried out the Good Afternoon blend. Medium-bodied, light finish, fine but not something to replace any of my regular afternoon cups. It’s a deep colour and goes fine with sugar and milk.
As a sidenote, I find it really interesting how the cold soy which has managed to mix with the tea has settled, leaving the hot layer of lesser mixed tea on top of the glass! I try to notice little things like these. The vortex making the leaves dance inside the infuser, the afternoon-lit kaleidoscope, the steam rising, condensation on the glass, the heat radiating, the scent. Anything like this is a rich experience if you take the moment to pay attention. Just a minute.
