I was recently taken by a friend who meticulously grounds their own coffee beans by hand before steaming them in a particular way to create their morning brew.
Such a wonderful observance before enjoying a moment of pleasure derived from that ritual reminds me of Chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony of pouring all one’s attention into the predefined movements. More than about drinking tea, it is about the aesthetics of preparing tea from one’s heart.
I have always been drawn to these rituals, moreover because it’s so far from my own style of riding life by the seat of my pants that’s pretty much hardwired to everything I do. But as I get older I know that as much as I admire the ceremony, it’s not something I will be employing in my life long term.
This is not a defeatist comment so much as me being accepting of the person that I am. We would all like to be many things in life and admire many more styles of living, but I feel there’s a fine line between being defeatist about what one will achieve and being content with who one is.
In many ways I’ve learnt to embrace my faults and accept the person I am. This has enabled me to smile at my misgivings, instead of chastising myself for having them, and enjoy the complex and contradictory person I am so much more.
Like a pair of well-worn jeans, it’s the imperfections in the fabric and colour that make them beautiful and desirable. We should all learn to embrace our faults and wallow in the flawed beings that we are. It’s my belief it will only make us more beautiful and alluring. And even though we’re not going to be to everyone’s taste, we will be happier knowing we are at least ours!