When I woke up this morning under my warm down comforter, I realized it would be another chilly day and decided to stay in bed. I picked up Frederick Buechner's The Sacred Journey and began to read while listening to the soothing sound of the gentle rainfall. I read the poem on the bookmark I picked up in NYC at a tea store in China Town.
Tea Poem by Lu Torng, 1835, China
First cup souses lip and throat;
Second cup relieves loneliness and worries;
Third cup burgeons thoughts and words;
Fourth cup flushes out complaints and anger;
Fifth cup cleans muscles and bones;
Sixth cup purifies heart and soul;
Seventh cup may be declined;
It will fly you like a kite.
I have never drank that much tea and coffee is my drink of choice which I'm certain will fly you like a kite if you drank seven cups. Maybe it's just the simple act of sitting still while drinking tea that's beneficial. I must admit that it is difficult to be still. "Be still and know that I am God." Maybe I should try communing with God while drinking a lot of tea to help me be still.
"It was the face, the surface, that interested me then at the age of thirteen, and I have wondered since how much this may have been Naya's influence because for her too it was the outward and visible oddities of people that she delighted in and was so good at caricaturing. And I have wondered, too, if for both of us this was a way of steering clear of the inward invisibleness beneath the face because there was so much more down there than either of us could well cope with, she because she was too old, I suppose, and I because I was too young."
I can see myself in Naya. I too am fascinated with the outward and visible oddities of people. It amuses me. I also steer clear of the inward invisibleness of people for the most part because I don't cope well. What is my reason? I am weak and cannot help anyone. I am tired from my own aching heart. Many times I just don't want to care but this never happens or at least not for long. Therefore, being a Christian is excellent because I can just unload all my burdens as well as others burdens onto Jesus and ask him to cover me.
Tea Poem by Lu Torng, 1835, China
First cup souses lip and throat;
Second cup relieves loneliness and worries;
Third cup burgeons thoughts and words;
Fourth cup flushes out complaints and anger;
Fifth cup cleans muscles and bones;
Sixth cup purifies heart and soul;
Seventh cup may be declined;
It will fly you like a kite.
I have never drank that much tea and coffee is my drink of choice which I'm certain will fly you like a kite if you drank seven cups. Maybe it's just the simple act of sitting still while drinking tea that's beneficial. I must admit that it is difficult to be still. "Be still and know that I am God." Maybe I should try communing with God while drinking a lot of tea to help me be still.
"It was the face, the surface, that interested me then at the age of thirteen, and I have wondered since how much this may have been Naya's influence because for her too it was the outward and visible oddities of people that she delighted in and was so good at caricaturing. And I have wondered, too, if for both of us this was a way of steering clear of the inward invisibleness beneath the face because there was so much more down there than either of us could well cope with, she because she was too old, I suppose, and I because I was too young."
I can see myself in Naya. I too am fascinated with the outward and visible oddities of people. It amuses me. I also steer clear of the inward invisibleness of people for the most part because I don't cope well. What is my reason? I am weak and cannot help anyone. I am tired from my own aching heart. Many times I just don't want to care but this never happens or at least not for long. Therefore, being a Christian is excellent because I can just unload all my burdens as well as others burdens onto Jesus and ask him to cover me.
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