March 2012

Pushing aside the burlap flap, we all enter one by one to sit around this old hut once more. The circle has grown since last time. Someone has just stirred the coals to flame again, and here comes the kettle. As it hangs above the fire, let us get to know each other a bit more...

Understanding the purpose and meaning behind these gatherings is paramount. Last time we got together, we talked about how it is important for us all to remember that this is charity, rather than purchasing tea. We should all view this as a give-away, and the gifts we've brought for each other should bring us closer together. Maybe we can all bow now, out of mutual love and respect, before we begin...

Sometimes the greatest gift you can give someone is the opportunity to give. Giving opens up your energy and encourages loving-kindness. It helps you to honor abundance in this world, as well as the power of sharing. Giving helps you to participate in your world, and thereby learn and grow; it brings us closer together.

It has been so amazing to wake up each morning and find your tea on the altar downstairs, and to see the way people here stop and give it some love now and again. It has taught us that this Global Tea Hut is so much more than just a way for us to fund our center. Isn't it amazing that such different people all around the world are drinking the same tea, in the same spirit of giving and community? Do you feel them when you lift your bowl? Can you see them here and now in this hut with you? We all have the same aims, promoting an awakening of consciousness through Cha Dao, but each of us sees this kettle in the middle from a different perspective. I can't help but wonder what you see from the other side of the fire as me. My vision has been that this "hut" isn't just a metaphorical one, but a real, physical connection that for at least one tea session a month brings us all to the same place.

Another insight has also arisen from this deep feeling of connection: When you drink your tea there by the beach, listening to the waves crash, know that the very same ocean crashes on another beach far away, and on a hill near that other beach is another person drinking the same tea. Further inland, over some mountains, yet another brother sips this same tea, admiring the endless white of winter. Further on, as the eagle flies, a tea sister of yours now sits enjoying this same tea while she listens to some lovely classical music in the background, and sighs with joy. Your bowl on that table you sit before right now touches the ground, which touches the beach, which touches the ocean... and only a few touches later and you've touched another person in the Global Tea Hut. We are bridging space with this.

Look around, there are some truly amazing people gathered here. It brings tears to my eyes, I am so grateful to have met and shared this earth with you beautiful souls. Also, look deeply into this bowl, as I promise to look deeply into mine, and we'll surely find one another inside...