If there's anything that cultivates the practice of slowing down and the beauty of ordinary moments, it's teatime. Teatime is one of the simplest ways to incorporate some beauty into your everyday tasks and rhythms. It's an invitation to sit and be still, even if just for five minutes. It's an invitation to breathe deeply and soak in the quietness of the moment. It's a welcoming into all that is lovely and peaceful and lifegiving.
Teatime doesn't have to be grand or extravagant. More times than not, teatime is probably just a brief pocket of time in the day when you can pause and be refreshed and renewed before you continue on with your daily tasks. Everyday teatimes are simple and yet beautiful. It's the art of slowing down and savouring. It's not hard or complicated, but it does take practice. The world is always seeking to pull us in this direction or that, to listen to this voice or that one, or to say "yes" to all the things. Teatime is the perfect opportunity to say "no" to some things in order to say "yes" to something that will fill you up...with more than just a warm cup of tea. By taking the time to slow down and be still, you are saying "yes" to being filled with renewed vision, a refreshed spirit, an uplifted heart, and a beautiful peacefulness to take with you after you return to your daily activities. Five minutes of that stillness is going to benefit you way more than that busyness, loudness, or whatever it was that was pulling you away from doing something lifegiving.
Then, there are those special occasions when teatime is more of a grand occasion. In our home, we have these sorts of teatimes at Christmas, Mother's Day, and a few times during the year to celebrate the beauty of each season as the earth welcomes it in as well. Those are typically the ones that I share about here on my blog. We love picking out special recipes or trying new ones and picking out favorite teacups to use and choosing the perfect teapot for the occasion. We sometimes invite a few friends to join us, but most of the time, it's just my mom, sister and me. We find delight in the preparations the night before and setting the table the afternoon of. We sit around our table and feast and laugh and talk and just simply savour...the food, the tea, the company, the laughter, the beauty of it all.
Ordinary teatimes can look different depending on your day, your tasks, your season in life, etc. And they rightly should. As a single girl, I find myself sitting down at night for a cup of tea (or hot cider or a decaf vanilla latte) and enjoying the peacefulness of teatime whilst I read a novel or favorite magazine, or as I watch a movie or show, as I knit or work on a craft project, or as I write and blog. For a mother with young children, her teatime will look different from mine. She will probably have littles around her and that's fine...she can invite them to join teatime, too. Just get some teacups for children and let them pick out a fun drink...juice, milk, or whatever they like. Allow them to join in and make it fun. Put out a blanket on the grass or set the table with pretty napkins. Set out a few cookies or snacks that they only get at teatime, that way it feels extra special. If you're outside, play a nature watching game or lay down and watch the clouds. Inside, you can read a book or sing songs or color pictures.
Bottom line, no matter where you find yourself in life, teatime is possible. It's just going to look different depending on your season of life...and that shouldn't be something that hinders you or takes away from your teatime. Rather, each season should be celebrated and those differences be seen as blessings.
For more on teatime, both ordinary celebrations and tea parties for holidays, etc, I invite you to visit this page HERE where I share all about teatime.
Until tomorrow, dear ones, slow down and savour the beauty of teatime!
♥