The weather in Paris is not sure if it wants to be a Spring Maiden or a Winter Crone this week. Earlier in the week the trees began to bud and put forth a few flowers but this morning large fluffy snowflakes decided to fall from the Heavens to add to Mother Nature's confusion. We came in from a brisk walk from the local Mono Prix and I decided it was a perfect day for a Tea Pour. I had found the smallest branch of yellow forsythia that had poked out from an old garden fence. Since it was on my side of the sidewalk I felt it was perfectly legal to snap a twig of flowering buds in hopes that warmer days would be coming soon. I peeled off my multi-layers of warm clothes and then place my single twig in a clear glass of water.
I pulled out my snow- white Gaiwan cup with three matching lotus tea cups. Two I would use for tea and the second cup I place several scoops of Long Jing tea (Dragon Well ) or known here in France (Puits du Dragon). I also choose a spring green tea towel, which might of just been wish-full thinking at the time. I arranged all the tea accessories on a orange bamboo mat and I was ready for the pour.
It been a few weeks since I had worked with my Gaiwan cup, whose lid, cup and saucer represents the Harmony between Heaven, Earth and Wo/man. It took me several weeks to master the graceful moves to work with this cup so that my presentation of making tea is both appealing to the eye as it is to the taste-buds.
Tea brings one to the moment. A good tea ceremony should represent a balance of all five elements. The orange bamboo mat,I had chosen for this tea pour gave me the impression of a blazing sun. I also used a tea candle burner that kept my tea water at an even temperature. Both the candle and the orange mat represented the element of FIRE.
The element of WATER was present with the washing of the cups , the trickling sound of water is heard as I pour from cup to cup. Then the sound changes and resonate as you empty the cups into bamboo tea tray. This is the song of a good tea ceremony. The element of pure water is the supreme carrier to receive the tea leaves, that creates the perfect alchemical process of right temperature and perfect steeping time.
The element of AIR is presence when you raise the lid of the Gaiwan and the tea is carried on scented vapors as you bring your nose to the cup . Something so subtle and ancient comes to my mind each time I inhale the fragrance of tea. My everyday world fades into the back-ground and another world takes its place, where beauty is found in the most simple gestures and quiet silence as I contemplate the essence of the moment. Tea Ceremony is the practice of Living in the Moment.
The element of the Green Healing Earth and all the treasure the Earth given to us daily is locked within the tea leaves themselves. The gifts of the Earth are countless and taken so much for granted in this day and age. Even this body that has the ability to taste the tea, is only a temporary gift that is given to us to experience LIFE.
The treasures of the Air, Water, Fire and Earth are full represented in each Tea Ceremony. But the treasure of Space is the empty cup. It is in emptiness when we finally become open and willing to receive in any given moment. That moment can either be the water for washing or the tea to be poured. And on some occasions the tea leaves that cling to the bottom of the cup making auspicious images.
Tea Haiku
Snowflakes falling on fragile flowers
Tea Water Boiling
Warms both heart and soul.
Raylene Abbott
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