Listening to our Heart with Tea.
Have you ever felt bogged down by overwhelming emotions that burn you out and leaving you listless and fatigued? Often, we feel emotions that are uncomfortable and irritating within us that we in turn project onto others and blame others for their faults. The anger, frustrations, sadness take over our mind and body, and as a fight-or-flight response we either lash out on others, break down and cry in solitude or perhaps find other expressive outlets to release these emotions. We often let our mind rule over us, as the ongoing chattering continues to eat away our focus and attention and we just don’t know how to make it stop.
What about trying to sit with these emotions as they surface over a cup of tea? It may be very uncomfortable to face our own inner demons-that is, the emotions that make us feel lacking, not good enough, lonely, valueless. However, it takes courage for anyone of us to be able to sit down and listen to ourselves, almost like talking to someone who bullies us in a bad way, in our mind. When we choose to face ourselves, including the not-so-pretty and imperfect parts, that’s when we accept the whole package of ourselves, not just the polished versions we often portray to the world around us so that we can feel accepted or loved.
If we can sit down, brew ourselves some tea (but with extra caution if we are dealing with hot water) in a slow and mindful way, we can then close our eyes while we sip that tea and listen to what our heart tells us, instead of the mind. The mind might continue to weigh us down with thoughts, judgment, prejudice against our very own selves, while the heart would tell us to just feel into these emotions and prompt us to inquire where these feelings are coming from and how they are affecting our body. If we can let all the mind-chattering flow through us and then let go, it can be very liberating- almost like watching the smoke of hot steam simmering in our teapot fuses into the open air when we open the lid. That is, we finally have the bravery to own our emotions and then try to understand what are the sources of these many unpleasant emotions that constantly remind us of how unimportant and imperfect we are.
Let’s cultivate compassion for ourselves and others through tea. When we sip the tea with intention by following our hearts, we will come to a moment when we realize many of our emotions are triggered by events that connect us back to something unpleasant from the past and they are not necessarily faults of others. They are often our very own projections of emotions that remind us of how little we are. Maybe this is even a good start for us as we become aware of what’s bothering us. When we feel more comfortable and mentally and physically ready, we may dig deeper into those events and we start to see a clearer picture of ourselves and our emotions. Tea has the reflecting power to let us inquire and explore the inner landscape of ourselves. Let’s enjoy the journey, just like with our curiosity for teas, for learning more about ourselves.
What are some things that others say or do around you that trigger you to become very uncomfortable, irritated and judgmental of yourself?
Happy Brewing!
