A DAILY TEA PRACTICE
When tea is consumed in the form of a practice, it not only enhances the joy of tea drinking, but has the potential to substantially transform our way of being.
Preparing high grade Japanese green teas through various brewing techniques and savouring them with intentionality, is what transcends tea drinking from being simply a beverage of enjoyment to a personal ritual.
An intention is defined as bringing awareness to a quality or virtue you’d like to cultivate for yourself. The word derives from the Latin word intendere or intentio, which means both “stretching” and “purpose”. In essence then; if we are to live up to an intention we’ve set, we’re stretching ourselves beyond the place we’re currently at. This might mean towards a different state of mind, a new action or way of feeling, or even a new life path.
And a practice, by its very nature, entails consistent repetition day after day. So, why would we commit to such regularity if not to instigate personal evolution and transformation somehow, of who we are?
Consider the concept of practice — Setting an initial intention, then returning to it consistently until it ingrains as behaviour, eventually evolving into habit, to become a practice of second nature over time and ultimately, intrinsic to who we are. This process is what gradually shapes and transforms our character.
So applying this perspective to tea as a practice, we must first delve into the underlying intention and connect with it — Why am I treating this as a daily practice? Why does it matter to me? What specific qualities or virtues am I seeking to work towards/cultivate — more consistency, presence, honesty, reliability, authenticity, peacefulness, kindness, love or is it simply to nurture your inner world?
In Japanese culture, tea is an art form ritualised to cultivate discipline. Whatever the intention is in your practice, the essence lies in the steady commitment to revisit it each day, where we see the benefits continue to compound, gradually reshaping who we are over time.
Could tea be your gateway to living a life of cultivation through the art of practice?