On finding time

I have seen a recurring theme of people talking about making time to do something, but you are not going to schedule yourself a time to brew tea, either. So, I wanted to talk about “making time”.

At times it is nice to drink a cup of tea, then you find yourself in a meeting, commuting in a train or car, or maybe even in the gym. The thing is that you can’t take out your teapot in those situations and brew something.

Time or mindset

Personally, it’s more about finding the right mindset. Without it, you can have plenty of hours to brew tea, but it might not be an enjoyable time for you or those sharing a cup with you. A mindset that works for me is, for example, early in the morning when everyone is still asleep or those 15 minutes at work when nobody has arrived yet.

Occasionally, the right mindset is while working, doing mechanical work and most of the time, when I need to concentrate and do some deep work. Some had said, “but like this, you cannot fully enjoy the flavours of the tea”, But I do. Tea makes my work more enjoyable and working on something while having a good brew makes the tea more enjoyable as well.

Of course, it is enjoyable to brew tea, nothing else, and focus on what and how you brew. It is a practice worth cultivating. But making time alone doesn’t cut it.

A way to “make time for tea” is to find when you have the right mindset and when tea is more enjoyable in your environment. Not only make space in your life to brew some tea but to incorporate tea into your life. In other words, recognise the situations where brewing can and wants to be part of your day. I believe that although similar, there is an important distinction to make.

A reason

Another way I find particularly interesting is finding a reason to brew. To greet someone, to set a mood for a chat with friends, or to practice appreciation. I find myself asking, why do I brew this today, enjoyment? Certainly, but also to give me a space to prepare for a study session. Other times the answer is just for my well-being, mentally and physically.

Finding that reason and integrating it into your everyday life is a conscious effort to focus on yourself. A focus we lose during certain days of the week, in certain situations and events in our days. Tea can be the tool to ground us back to our own helpful and healthy reasons and mindsets. Tea is not just a commodity or a worshipped pastime, as Baisao put it once, about monks becoming “dabblers of tea”.

Find mindsets and reasons, not time

To sum up, find when your mindset is appropriate for your reasons, brew tea. If you are conscious of this, you can find the space and the time. Because they will naturally show up in your day-to-day, recognise these opportunities and make them part of your day.