Lessons from a tea bag

My wife put me on a diet. If you knew me you would find the concept of me dieting is ludicrous. I have never done it and never planned on it. My idea of dieting was restraining myself from ordering an extra Big Mac Combo. I enjoy eating. Eating enjoys me. So anyways...

Part of this diet was to cut out sugars and caffeine from your diet. It is supposed to help balance you out and make your body better prepared for this change. So no more coffees, Coke, or ice cream. Damn! So I have been drinking herbal tea with flavored with natural nectars or sugar substitutes. My search for herbal teas led me to this particular company "Yogi Tea," of which I am now a big fan. If you read the box this tea should get a Nobel Prize. I feel better just buying it! It makes my drinking seem so spiritual! The universe wants me to drink this tea! Its almost like a spiritual rush. But I of course manage to screw it up. Each tea bag has a little quote on the "tail" of the bag that is supposed to lift your spirits and bring you into alignment with the universe. Today it was:

"Socialize with compassion, kindness, and grace."

I dropped the tea bag into the boiling hot water with a little too much vigor and the little tail went into the steaming briney deep. Natural reaction made me make a rush for and and I pretty much burned my fingers trying to fish it out. Profanities and footstopping shortly ensued afterwards and I can tell you that there was not much compassion, kindness, and grace in my first couple hours of work.

penny for your thoughts...my 2 cents.

green.tea.latte, originally uploaded by impactmatt.

I have realized that I am a consumer. For the longest while I tried to resist the title. I have problems with a consumer/capitalist society/mindset. I don't want to be ruled by the almighty dollar, euro, yen, pound, or peso! But when I look at how I live my life I see a trail of dollar sign bread crumbs leading me to my gingerbread house and my eventual demise.

I think I consume because there is something missing in my life. This is tough for me to admit because I feel like my life is pretty filled up and going well (all things considered). But I have to admit that there is a certain joy I get at looking at sparkly and shiny things. The bright lights and colors pull me in. There is a greater joy in getting that thing... whatever it may be... and it makes me feel whole.

I just don't think its a wise use of my money. I have things... lots of things. I have my health, happiness, home(kind of), and the heart of my wife. I have relationships with people I consider close and important. I know that there is a God and He loves me and that changes my life and makes me rethink my life and change course when it is needed (hence this blog post!) How much more wise would it be to help others who have little or nothing rather than add to the wealth I already have?

The picture way above of this tea is a good example and makes my mind think of a great way to change my perception and all our perceptions. This was the greatest tea latte I ever had. It also cost upwards of $6. Not that much right? However, buy this drink five times a month and you would have the equivalent of what it takes to feed, teach, provide water and medicine to a child in an impoverished country. Maybe there is some way for us to sacrifice our luxuries so that we do with out so that those who don't have can do with...

Thoughts? Comments? Is this something you could do? Even if you buy just a regular Tim Hortons or Dunkin Doughnuts coffee daily, that two bucks could add up to a lot for someone.

Look at me... I see something that needs fixing in my life and I pick on everyone else! Yesssss! Avoidance at its best! I really do want to work on it! I will, I promise!