Marco here. So simple. So profound...
Choose your leaves. Prepare your tea, then, slow down, like you’ve just turned off the highway into a quiet neighborhood. Normal rat-race speed is unsuitable for what we’re about to do. Hurrying through the process of relaxing defeats its purpose.
This experience is all about decelerating. Take a breath if you have to, or if you wish to.
You will now confront one of modern society’s ever-present dangers, which is the risk of distraction we face whenever nothing interesting happens for a few minutes. Your muscle memory will suggest something, maybe slipping your smartphone out, maybe leaning over the computer chair to surf Reddit, maybe straightening something on the counter. Worst of all, you may start talking to yourself in your head.
Stay where you are. You’re making tea. You may have the impulse might be to self-entertain. Opt instead to do something simple and self-contained, like stretching or looking out the window. If you’re game, just stand beside the stove. Let time just hang there, without making you feel like you should be somewhere else.
Whatever you end up doing for that two minutes, if you stay with it, your simple experience of standing or window-looking will seem to grow in intensity, until your whole world begins whistling and rattling.
Don’t rush here. A boiling kettle is not a crisis. To make sure you’re not reacting, watch it exhale steam for a few seconds. Observe how the world stays together. Let your pulse return to normal, then take it off.
Pour your water into the cup. Set the kettle aside. Heat off.
Find something to put your teabag or infuser on once the tea is fully steeped. A saucer or a napkin. Take this, and your cup, to your chair.
Walking with a scalding liquid is an act that summons the necessary mindfulness on its own. Watch your hands like they’re a movie. They will know what to do. Let the rest of you disappear.
Drink some Tea...
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