Tea Time

Blog # 33

       Tea is a symbol of friendship.  It means I want to spend time you and you with me.  It is not about preparing a big dinner for you, cleaning the house to have you visit, or, even, “having fun” together. It is not about working or exercising together,although I think all of those things are important for friendship, too. Just to let you know, I would rather get together more often, than have to wait until your house is clean. I would rather enjoy you as you are, than wait until everything is perfect.

      Drinking tea together is just about spending time in conversation: listening, talking or both.  It might be silently reflecting. It is a friendly ritual of sharing and caring.   On a cold day, wrapping your frigid fingers around a cup of tea, facing a good friend is as “good as it gets”. In the summer, finding some shade with a glass of iced tea is comparable.   If you prefer coffee, that’s okay, too.

       Tea has become a symbol of tradition, politeness and English ways that have gone all over the world. In the southern United States, sweet tea is a symbol their culture. There is also a “Tea Party” in America stands politically against taxation. Tea for them represents unfair taxation as it did in American colonial times. Tea is associated with healing and longevity.  To me, it symbolizes simple, sweet, unpretentious friendship, by giving to someone the most precious of all commodities: time.
        (This blog was triggered by a friend who called me up on this rainy day inviting me over for tea; toast with nutella; and, of course, conversation. Thank you.)