Am I a good maker of tea??
One of the first things my husband taught me how to prepare was chai. Some people call this chai tea. The correct translation of chai IS "tea". So if you call it that, just giggle to yourself that you are referring to it as "tea tea!" Okay. Grammar enlightenment complete.
Anyway - to a person with Pakistani heritage as is my husband, making chai is as necessary as breathing. It must be done right and with just the correct amount of spices. After being married to this man for the past 22 years, I am quite critical of store-bought chai. It is just way too busy for my taste.
I love the act of making tea. There is a ritual to it. It doesn't come out of a little K-cup and is ready in 30 seconds. It takes time. One must peel the cardamom and crush it in the mortar. One must take care to add one or two other spices of the day. Will it be cinnamon today? Or cloves? Too many different ones muddle the flavor.
Once the tea is the perfect color of caramel and the milk is completely warmed through but never boiling, then you can remove it from the heat and strain it into your favorite cup that you have pre-warmed with hot water of course.
We have the most precious little strainers. They have a long handle and a small basket with tiny holes to strain out the spice bits. They were specifically chosen by The Husband to suit chai making needs.
I was looking at those strainers the other day and a thought popped into my head. I had to quickly list it here before it died of loneliness! ;)
Picture with me your mental processes. Ideas, To-do list items, plans, etc. all jumbled together and somehow they straighten out and are put into action. You also have things that just gnaw on you up there. Things people have said that stuck with you and not in a good way, little gripes in your daily life, self-criticism that lingers. It all swirls around in your brain like a mental soup. Some of these things bug you so much that you are spurred into action and can clear them. But others stay. And stay. And fester. As I was washing one of our little strainers the other day I marveled at the fineness of the mesh...tiny little holes allowing only liquid to get through. The rest of the mix stayed securely in the basket.
I know this is a leap, but stay with me. Supposing we picture an imaginary strainer in our head. And all the things coming into our brain to be processed and relegated to its proper file have to go through this strainer. I'm the kind of person that would probably choose a very fine mesh. I don't want to miss a thing. I have a hard time letting things go sometimes. It bugs me. I need to change that. So I am. I am going to consciously CHOOSE to widen the holes in my mental strainer. I want those little nagging items to fall right through and not hang me up. I don't want to carry around harsh feelings, judgments, frustrations, and hurts. What good are they going to do me? Here's the great part about this analogy. If a problem really needs my attention, it will be big enough to have stayed in the basket. The small stuff that needs to stay small stuff will be long gone, flushed right through. Gone will be the tiny irritations that happen between long-time spouses. Gone will be the minute annoyances that can sometimes sideline you. And gone will be the internal monologue running through your brain that you aren't good enough, smart enough, accomplishing enough.
I'm gonna try it. I'm a very visual person and when feeling stressed I am going to visualize a mesh strainer with a big old coarse mesh basket straining out all the chaff and chatter. What will remain will be stuff that truly matters. The big stuff. Sound good??
Now go have a cup of your favorite hot beverage and take some time just for you. And....
...make it a great day!!
Anyway - to a person with Pakistani heritage as is my husband, making chai is as necessary as breathing. It must be done right and with just the correct amount of spices. After being married to this man for the past 22 years, I am quite critical of store-bought chai. It is just way too busy for my taste.
I love the act of making tea. There is a ritual to it. It doesn't come out of a little K-cup and is ready in 30 seconds. It takes time. One must peel the cardamom and crush it in the mortar. One must take care to add one or two other spices of the day. Will it be cinnamon today? Or cloves? Too many different ones muddle the flavor.
Once the tea is the perfect color of caramel and the milk is completely warmed through but never boiling, then you can remove it from the heat and strain it into your favorite cup that you have pre-warmed with hot water of course.
We have the most precious little strainers. They have a long handle and a small basket with tiny holes to strain out the spice bits. They were specifically chosen by The Husband to suit chai making needs.
I was looking at those strainers the other day and a thought popped into my head. I had to quickly list it here before it died of loneliness! ;)
Picture with me your mental processes. Ideas, To-do list items, plans, etc. all jumbled together and somehow they straighten out and are put into action. You also have things that just gnaw on you up there. Things people have said that stuck with you and not in a good way, little gripes in your daily life, self-criticism that lingers. It all swirls around in your brain like a mental soup. Some of these things bug you so much that you are spurred into action and can clear them. But others stay. And stay. And fester. As I was washing one of our little strainers the other day I marveled at the fineness of the mesh...tiny little holes allowing only liquid to get through. The rest of the mix stayed securely in the basket.
I know this is a leap, but stay with me. Supposing we picture an imaginary strainer in our head. And all the things coming into our brain to be processed and relegated to its proper file have to go through this strainer. I'm the kind of person that would probably choose a very fine mesh. I don't want to miss a thing. I have a hard time letting things go sometimes. It bugs me. I need to change that. So I am. I am going to consciously CHOOSE to widen the holes in my mental strainer. I want those little nagging items to fall right through and not hang me up. I don't want to carry around harsh feelings, judgments, frustrations, and hurts. What good are they going to do me? Here's the great part about this analogy. If a problem really needs my attention, it will be big enough to have stayed in the basket. The small stuff that needs to stay small stuff will be long gone, flushed right through. Gone will be the tiny irritations that happen between long-time spouses. Gone will be the minute annoyances that can sometimes sideline you. And gone will be the internal monologue running through your brain that you aren't good enough, smart enough, accomplishing enough.
I'm gonna try it. I'm a very visual person and when feeling stressed I am going to visualize a mesh strainer with a big old coarse mesh basket straining out all the chaff and chatter. What will remain will be stuff that truly matters. The big stuff. Sound good??
Now go have a cup of your favorite hot beverage and take some time just for you. And....
...make it a great day!!
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