From a tea shop I once worked at, I picked the habit of mixing teas.  I love the preparation as much as the surprise of the first taste. When it is good I feel clever and when it is bad I say, “oh well.” To celebrate, review, contemplate, and define 2014 I wanted a drink to sip along.  I found a promising bag in a favorite shop and the price lit me up.  It was an 8 ounce bag of organic earl grey black tea. I brought it home in a hurry and brought the water to boil. The taste was rich, but not overwhelming; the bergamot is prominent. I enjoyed it with my thoughts on the old year and found it to be also very good at waking one’s energy.

Before the black tea, my daily go to was my jasmine green tea. A couple of mornings ago as I was about to make a cup, I thought it would be clever to blend the green and the black teas for a new taste.  It was not until the next day that I realized I did not know the taste of my new blend. I tried again, but  having developed a habit of drinking my tea while I surf or work on my computer, my cup got drained without much thought.  Day three brought the realization that my oblivion had been repeated. Thus for my third attempt, I drunk away from the computer. I sat at the window, staring out into the morning. Watching people wrapped up in several layers, hooded, and marching to work or some other places. I drunk my tea with much attention to my taste buds. The bergamot was still prominent, but so was the jasmine. Neither overpowered the other. It felt ingenious that I could taste both the green tea separately from the black tea, and both of them together. It was delightful. Now I have something that is milder in taste than just the black tea but stronger than the green tea.

How many times have I done so many things at once that I am never fully aware of any one of them? Very often. These days it seems the only time I am not multitasking is when I am sleeping.  But even before I drift off, I am often working on a mental to do list for the next day.

January is gone and my only way of recollection is by reading my journal. I do not really remember much of January. I am not sure what I did this month. All I know is that there was January and every day I created something to distract me. This unawareness of things, letting time go and being semi-blind, semi-deaf, drifting with fixed thoughts on the  anticipation of future dates and the success of the projects I work on is harmful. I do not want to wake up and find 2015 over and not able to recall what I did with it or what it did with me.  For this reason, I am going to work harder on having better presence and not jumping from bed to work and from work into bed. I want to taste my tea. Examine its flavors, look out and read the sky and remember it.
—
Jane