My mornings have always been indebted to a good cup of tea. It wakes me up, energizes me, and strengthens me for all the hard battles I am about to embark upon during my day. As I sit down on a quiet Monday morning with a cup in my hand, savoring my precious 15 minutes of “me-time”, the taste and aroma of the magic potion reassures me — “Everything is going to be ok. Life is not that hard after all.”

As I continue to drink, it reminds myself of all the good things in life and how life is so much similar to a cup of tea. My thoughts continue to wander and draw a parallel comparison between my cup of tea and my entire life in a nutshell — two things that can be very complicated and very simple at the same time.

1. There is no perfect recipe for tea. Everyone likes their own cup of tea.

I wish there was a definition for a prefect life. A general perception about life is to develop a skill, have a decent livelihood, succeed and settle, marry, have kids and life goes on. But this is no “one size fits all” solution.

Monks who renounce everything, in search of spiritual enlightenment, are often the happiest and most glowing creatures on this planet. While for others, a top floor corner office in a posh Manhattan building is what brings the most satisfaction.

I, personally, prefer my cup of tea to be medium strong, with just a tinge of aromatic spices, while others often prefer theirs to be very strong and aromatic. I tried the later once, but it definitely did not suit my palate. I guess we should all just stick to what suits us best — be it our cup of tea or our aspirations in life about corner offices and spiritual enlightenment.

As they say, find your own waters — or in this context, your own cup of tea.

2. It is never about tea, but the people we share it with.

Life is all the more beautiful, when you have a good bunch of people to share it with. The people we often term as friends, family, colleagues and companions. They may not always have the similar tastes in life, yet they would equally love to share their tea time with you as much as yourself — and this is what matters the most.

And after all, isn’t life all about finding that one loving person with whom you want to share your cup of tea for the rest of life? The person with whom you do not want to differentiate between your individual cups of tea, and the notion of “our cups of tea” takes the precedence.

Be it our Saturday evening tea party or our major life events — the presence of individuals we love the most, makes it all the more important.

3. One should let things simmer. A good cup of tea takes time.

Good things in life take time, and we must learn to respect this particular aspect of life. Right skillset, right ingredients and right amount of hard work — all are key components for preparing a good cup of tea. But even after we have done all of that, shouldn’t we let it simmer?

I once drank an underprepared cup of tea — the aromas of different spices had not yet blended in, and it definitely did not taste good. And guess what, a bad cup of morning tea can spoil your entire day — just like when a bad beginning derails your entire initiative. All it needed was two more minutes of idle time — let all our efforts sync in, and things would have turned out very differently.

Indeed, patience is the golden virtue that is often underrated while achieving greater things in life — and I learnt this while making tea.

4. There is nothing that a cup of tea cannot solve.

There is no conflict in the world that cannot be solved via a meaningful conversation over a good cup of tea. Mega companies board room discussions involving billion of dollars, bureaucratic discussions involving fate of countries, two affectionate individuals on a lovely date planning their future — all happens over a cup of tea.

Sometimes I feel presentations are so over rated. Just give all the parties involved a cup of tea, a pleasant environment, and just that right amount of soothing music in the background. I am pretty sure we will have fewer problems to deal with.

And, if I can give you a tip, consider adding additional sugar in your cups of tea, for such difficult conversations. The additional sweetness in your tea (and your words) helps!

5. Too much sugar spoils the tea.

Someone once told me, a life without hardships is a life that has not been fully lived, and I could not agree more. After all, what does difficulties and hardships do? They imbibe a feeling of gratitude within ourselves when things are going just fine.

Try adding too much sugar to your tea and it starts to taste bitter. In certain cuisines, salt is added to desserts just to balance the flavors that are too rich and sweet. Similarly, a brief period of hardships gives us a lifelong perspective to appreciate all the happy moments in our lives.

6. Life is so much simpler with a cup of tea in hand. Sip — Savor — Repeat.

Life is all about experiencing the joy in daily mundane things — be it going for a walk on a rainy day, sitting by the beach on a silent evening, or savoring a good cup of tea — but we do not see it anymore. In pursuit of all our complex ambitions, we often forget the joy of small things. Ironically, we keep track of everything we are achieving in our lives, but do not keep track of things we lose in such pursuits.

After a lot of deliberations, I have come to a realization that my career ambitions are important, but the joy of a peaceful morning tea is equally important. I do not want to miss this in pursuit of the former. I often feel that life would be so much simpler if we are able to do just that.

As my thoughts continue to wander, I realize living a fulfilling life and enjoying a cup of tea do not sound that different anymore. And just at this moment, my cup of tea is coming to an end — all good things in life come to an end after all. But the cup of tea has done its job, and prepared me for the day ahead. I pack my bag and catch the office shuttle.

If you have come so far, please share your feedback/reflections in the comments. 👏are optional, but they sure make us happy. 
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