September makes me happy. There’s just something about it, the turn of summer into autumn, the crispness that returns to the air, even just the evening air, that makes me happy. I love the bounty of the earth, the harvest, grains and corn and wonderful fruits and vegetables. It’s time for the last of the berries, for plums, and starting time for apples. Oh, I love apples. Still time for watermelons, but almost time for pumpkins. I look forward to misty gold mornings, to the drone of the cicadas to give way to crickets, and then to the wind and the rustling of the leaves. The changing of the seasons always makes me feel so alive, so connected to the natural world.
Rainy mornings make me happy because they feel so sleepy and lazy and because it means I don’t have to go out and water the tomatoes and the marigolds and the petunias or impatiens or whatever those flowers are planted around the trees in the front of the house.
Cups of tea make me happy, because there’s no hurrying them. You have to wait for them to brew, you have to wait for them to be cool enough to drink. It’s so nice holding a cup or mug in both hands, letting the heat slowly seep through, into, your skin, your fingers, your palms, your hands. Bend your face close to the rising steam and smell the wonderful aroma. Earthy black tea or garden-smell of green, the mild scent of white. The spice of herbs, rich chai, clove and orange, or the florals of jasmine, rose. Warm lemongrass, ginger, refreshing mint, or the soothing notes of chamomile. And then you sip it, hold it in your mouth a moment, savoring the flavor, the warmth, tasting the scents, then swallowing, feeling the warmth reach down, down. Having tea is holding a cup of meditation in your hands.
Comments on: "2 September 2010" (1)
Now I really want a cuppa…