A Teaspoon of Wisdom
Tea Students;
You have all grown so much in these past few months under my Tea tutelage. I am quite proud of how far you’ve come. When I first met you, you didn’t know a tea leaf from a bay leaf, or the difference between loose tea and a loose knot. Why, you still thought tea was just a letter in the alphabet! Ha! We laugh about it now. But it was quite pathetic.
I wanted to tell you about an old expression relating to tea, that you will perhaps find enlightening. It is quite deep. And it has come into the popular spotlight quite recently, so now is a good time to enlighten you.
Recently a reporter interviewed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He said many interesting things, but in the process, he referred to an expression I have grown up with in my long life as a Tea Master. It goes like this:
“The first cup of tea, you’re a stranger; the second cup, a friend; and the third cup, you’re family.”
Dwell on that. Steep in the wisdom. It is not just about tea, of course. It is about how you treat people. Friendship. Loyalty. There is much to be gleaned from this.
I only ask that you sit with a cup of organic loose tea and think about this expression. I think you might find that there is something there to take with you through your life. Not just your career as a tea student or eventual tea master. This is bigger than that.
And of course, if you gain no wisdom, at least you had a good cup of tea.
Tags: Brewing Tea, Green Tea, politics, Tea Wisdom, Wisdom
